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5 Best Built-In Ovens
Whether you are a Gordon-like god in the kitchen, or your cooking is more Chuckle than Roux brothers, we have an oven that will help you achieve culinary greatness.
Jargon Busting Programmer: Old-style ovens may have simple minute minders that count down a clock until your food is ready. Hi-tech versions have programmable timers that can switch the oven on and off and record your settings for well-loved meals. Cleaning: Because nobody loves cleaning the oven, there are features that lessen this burden. Like removable door/glass, catalytic liners, or – God Bless It - pyrolytic cleaning where the oven does it all for you. Functions: Those of you that can handle more than a supermarket pie will like to look out for a range of cooking functions, such as top and bottom heat (which crisps up the bases of tarts etc nicely), rotisserie, fan, grill or even steam. Child lock: Stops children from tampering with your lovely oven. Shelves: Look out for the telescopic kind that you can pull right out with a heavy dish on and have no fear of catapulting it across the room.
Inventive £1,204
SE995XT-5 by Smeg What’s so great about it? Well we’ve seen fridges with integrated coffee makers – welcome to the brand-new world of ovens with panini toasters. Once you get over the craziness of the idea, it all starts to make sense – it’s just more cooking, really, and having the toaster built-in means your surfaces can be beautifully clutter-free.
The super-sleek oven has a large capacity, ten functions (including pizza, grill and rotisserie) and electronic LED programmer. The toaster part pulls out at the side, can be used to make old-fashioned toast as well as paninis, and it has its own timer, so no excuse for burnt pop tarts.
The science: H480mm x W900mm x D545mm; 70ltr oven capacity; 10 cooking functions; A energy rating; stainless steel finish. In other words: A must-have for anyone with a fondness for toasties, but an aversion to countertop gadgets.
Intuitive £829
B1644 by Neff What’s so great about it? For those of us that never seem to achieve that Nigella-esque effortless poise in the kitchen, and get flustered just making an omelette, here is an oven that makes it all as simple as strawberries in the summertime.
The electronic controls have a clear, easy-to-understand text display so you know what settings you’re on, and it tells you how hot the oven is, as well as the temperature you want it to get to. The shelves extend out completely, so you can stir and push it back in without tipping hot sauce down your sleeve, and even the handle is designed to make opening the door gratifyingly easy.
The science: H587mm x W594mm x D550mm; 58ltr capacity; 12 cooking functions, A energy rating, black or stainless steel finish. In other words: A smart oven with lots of cooking flexibility – even for the dummies amongst us.
