Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had a blast testing this Black and Decker TO3210SSD Countertop Convection Toaster Oven! Toaster ovens have changed a wee bit since I last owned one 20 or so years ago, so the first thing I did was look up a list or two of "must have" features - a Keep Warm function, an easy-to-access crumb tray to make cleaning easy, audible signals that tell you when something is done and more. This toaster oven ticked almost all of the boxes. The two "must haves" that it does not have are a rotisserie and a shelf that slides half-way out when you open the oven door to make it easier to remove or manipulate the food. In the end, I decided that being able to change the rack position - there are 3 - made up for not having the rack slide out when you open the door. The unit comes with a nice shiny pan, but frankly it is nearly useless since the center of the pan is raised into a low pyramid shape - too angular for baking cookies in, not level enough for a cake or something of that nature. One of the very first things I did was to order a few carefully chosen baking pans especially sized for toaster ovens. (More on that later.) Over the last few weeks I've done just about everything you can think of in this toaster oven. Toasted toast, bagels and English Muffins; baked a cake, a pie, scones & biscuits; broiled a steak, salmon and hamburgers; even made a few For 2-sized casseroles and an Apple Crisp - all with champion results. I must note, however, that despite the word "convection" in the name of this product and the audible fan, at no time did the usual benefits of using a convection oven - baking at lower temperature for less time - become apparent. Everything that I baked I baked at the same temperature that I would use in my big oven and the baking times were approximately the same. The unit takes about 4 minutes to come up to temperature. ▶︎ About that 12" pizza and the 6 slices of bread One of the claims that the manufacturer makes for this oven is that it will hold a 12" pizza or toast 6 slices of bread. That somewhat skirts reality. It will bake a 12" pizza of the "cardboard" sort - the kind that comes on a cardboard disk that you bake directly on the rack - but you'll have only a 1/4 inch or so to spare on all sides. The 12" pizza pan that I bought will not fit into the oven, so until I find something that will, making my own is not a possibility. Similarly, while the oven will hold 6 slices of bread, those slices must be on the small side. Even when toasting English Muffins I found four muffin halves to be a much better fit than six. Also note that the spacing on the rack allows items that you are toasting to slip though into the bottom of the oven. You'll want to be pretty careful about the placement of your bread. ▶︎ BAKING DISHES AND CASSEROLES Toaster ovens are marvelous for small apartments that do not have an oven and camping trailers/RVs. I've even taken one camping now and again when our campsite had on-site electricity, even though we were tent camping. At one time I had a fairly decent collection of smaller bakeware but over the years it has been misplaced, so I replaced nearly all of it. Here are the items that I chose - Wilton 2105-1366 Oven Right Toaster Oven Slider Cookie Sheet Pan, 8x10 Inch, Non-Stick. - This nice little baking sheet will hold 6-9 cookies, 1 "round" of scones or a 2-cups of flour recipe worth of biscuits (10-12). It bakes beautifully and the handy raised edge on one side makes it easy to get the pan in and out of the toaster oven. Nordic Ware Toaster Oven 3-Piece Baking Set - I'm not at all sure why Nordic Ware describes this set as having a grilling rack and a grill pan. The set comes with a roasting/baking/casserole pan that is about 7 x 10 inches, a rimmed baking sheet of the same size and a rack identical to the cooling racks you use for baked goods that fits inside either pan. The two pans are non-stick. My Grandma had a pan about the same size as the roasting/baking/casserole pan that she always used to bake cakes in, so I tested this with a half recipe of my favorite Banana Cake, which normally makes two 8 or 9 inch layers. The half recipe was a perfect fit for the pan and that little rack fits right inside the top to make turning out easy. The cake provided 10 servings, each about 3.5 x 2 inches. I did not, however, like the idea of using the rimmed baking sheet and the cooling rack as a grilling pan. Non-stick pans shouldn't be used at temperatures much above 425F - you'll destroy the finish. (Otherwise, it is fine for a half dozen biscuits or cookies.) I ended up ordering a real broiling pan for use in this toaster oven, one that did not have a non-stick finish and was made especially for higher temperatures. The single most expensive piece that I bought, this Sur La Table Stainless Steel Broiler Pan was one of the very few I found that fit the bill. Just small enough to fit into the oven, this is a traditional broiling pan made of stainless steel. With the oven rack on the highest setting, I produced really good steaks, broiled salmon filets and my favorite burgers. The pan holds two servings. The bottom of the pan can easily double as a roaster for a small roast. Do be careful, however. When I pulled the pan out to flip my steak the rack somehow came off the track in the back. Luckily, I did manage to solve the problem without ruining the steak, having to clean the oven or burning myself. One of my favorite casserole dishes, perfectly sized for two, is the Le Creuset Stoneware 7-by-5-Inch Rectangular Dish.(NOTE - this link is included only for illustrative purposes. I bought mine at a local store for about $8.) Three apples and a half-batch of crumble topping just fills the dish for a perfect apple crisp. Most of the Le Crueset and Staub casseroles up to a size of about 9x9 inches will fit the oven, as will standard 8-9 inch round or square baking pans. Grandma's $0.02 - This is a great small oven if you're only baking for one or two or just don't want to heat up the kitchen, but it is also large enough to bake a 9-inch casserole for a larger crowd. While this does claim to be a convection oven, I found no change in the usual temperature or baking time to be necessary for anything that I tried. UPDATE: Several weeks ago this toaster oven stopped working right in the middle of broiling steak for dinner and would no longer heat. After finishing the steak in my cast iron skillet and checking the breakers, I emailed Black & Decker's Customer Service. I did not hear back from them, so I ended up calling and was I ever impressed! I did not have to sit endlessly on hold even though I called right at what would have been lunchtime, the woman who helped me was polite, cheerful and very knowledgeable, and getting a replacement toaster oven was easy, straightforward and inexpensive. (They do ask you to pay a small amount for the cost of shipping the new appliance.) Two thumbs up! Recommended