Calphalon Performance Cool Touch Toaster Oven with Turbo Convection, Large (2106488), Black/Silver

I was considering this oven and the Breville Smart Pro Countertop oven (which surprisingly was less expensive, even if marginally so) and finally decided on the Calphalon for two reasons: first, I have a cat who sits on top of the microwave in the kitchen so she can stare at the dog when he eats and I was concerned she'd jump on a countertop oven while in use and give herself a nasty burn. The cool touch feature on this oven won me over.Second, I bake bread year round and in the summer my gas range really heats up my kitchen. When I saw the step cook function with proof/bake I was completely sold and ordered it (and yes, a 9x5 bread pan with a lip on both ends fits easily in this oven.)Another big plus was the interior light. Not many of these countertop ovens feature it but it's important to be able to check on the progress of your food without opening the door and letting out heat.The build just screams quality. The finish is beautiful and the Calphalon logo on the (very solid) handle as well as on the top of the unit shows attention to detail. The door glides open and shut quietly and doesn't clang or rattle. Even the included accessories look fairly high in quality. And it looks elegant in my kitchen and not trashy like the old toaster ovens always did. I have it on a finished wood kitchen island and to avoid scorching the wood I have a thick silicone mat underneath it. It preheats quickly and all of the various functions work well.By the way, I've made french fries in it using the dehydrator basket and the oven set to Turbo Convection and the fries turned out crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. It actually does a better job than my air fryer, although obviously I wouldn't put something like wings in this basket. But for fries it's great.If I have a quibble it's the utterly inadequate user manual that's included. It's more of a pamphlet than an actual user manual and it tells you in the (one page) of densely written text that forms the actual user manual portion of this pamphlet that if you need further usage instructions to go to their website. Seriously? It doesn't even cover one of the unique and most important features advertised on this oven, the step cook function, and I'm supposed to scrabble around on Calphalon's website to find this information? Not acceptable to make the consumer hunt for instructions that should be included with the oven. I want a full manual in hand and not this cheaply produced pamphlet. Calphalon, do better.

Such a 'cool' way to cook. Programmable and easy to operate. The accessories are an excellent quality. Clean up is simple. I love this item.

This was a no-brainer buy. I hope the industry follows what Calphalon is doing now. The product is similarly priced as other top of the line units but with a few great differences. 1) The insulated exterior - sides and front. Much better heat conduction within and much safer around the family. The bottom and back get hot. The top eventually gets a bit hot but much safer with all the insulation. 2) The unit is very quiet! 3) Proofing! Wow, finally a countertop unit that maintains 90 degrees to proof yeast and is definitely used to maintain 90 degrees to allow dough to rise. 4) The reheat option works well. I was able to reheat a cheese quesadilla in 9 minutes at 350 degrees. 5) Very adjustable temperature control. 6) No doors to slam closed. This units downward swing door is weighted well. You remain in full control of the opening and closing for your own safety! 7) Yes, for safety, this unit has a two foot electrical cord. This is standard and safe practice. 8) The plug does not get hot during use. 9)There is a fan that runs for a period of time to cool the unit, if necessary, after use. 10) Yes, unplug it for safety. 11) Removable bottom tray for crumb disposal. 12) Adjustable rack - two positions. 13) Preheating to 400 degrees is quick - maybe 4 minutes. 14) The thermostat is accurate to within industry standards. My ancient oven thermometer measured 380 degrees when this unit was set to 400. The controls allow you to adjust the temperature should you want to be picky about that. 15) A three year warranty! Oh yeah!THE DRAWBACKS 1) The pizza pan in not vented on the bottom. It is of fine quality though. 2) It takes a long time to toast bread. 3) This thing is bigger than your standard cheapo toaster/oven. Measure and make sure you have enough vent space on top, back and sides per manufacturers instructions. 4) Weight is around 30 pounds.

The actual unit is great love all the features it has. Temperature was accurate for about five months then it seemed I needed to increase the settings as things were not getting cooked fully. This got progressively worse over a month. At six month I decided to claim warranty as they state it has three years. I really needed a replacement first as we use thus daily. Also I need the packaging to do the return. Even if the return shipping is my expense I need the packaging. After waiting a week for the warranty department to response I am told I need to ship the item back first and that once they receive it, it could take up to 30 days to get a replacement. This item is basically new only six months old. If it is not heating properly that is a defect. I responded to their email stating I need the replacement first as I cannot be that long without a unit and I need the shipping material to send back the broken one. At this point I am waiting to hear backAs of November 15 I have not heard back from the manufacturer. Today the Unit stopped working all together with error code E05 which I found out is Heater Malfunction. No wonder it was not heading right! I need them to send me the replacment first so I can send this one back. This is a heavy unit so it is going to cost me to return as they do not pay return shipping, but I do not have the box it came in so unless they send me the correct packagin I cannot even return this at my own expense. All I need is for this to get damage in shipping and then its my fault! Hope they honor their warranty and send my a unit so I can send this one backI was finally able to get the replacment sent so I could use the same box to send back the broken unit. Which now as not working with Error Code E05. Cynthia was excellent and a real professional. I love this unit and now with my replacment I am back in business cooking.