Meets expectations, but that's it
Pros:
Temperature probe; bread-proofing; looks.
Cons:
Slow to heat-up; somewhat uneven baking.
The Bottom Line:
Average appliance at above-average price.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought this unit in July 2008. I had been researching appliances for over one year prior to remodeling my kitchen, and decided to go with this oven for the following reasons:
1. The interior is wide enough to accomodate two side-by-side baking sheets; ovens by several other manufacturers won't.
2. It has a bread-proofing function, and since my wife bakes a lot of bread she thought this would be useful.
Overall the performance has been okay, but not overwhelming. On the less-than-terrific front:
1. The oven was shipped to us without manuals or accessories (i.e. broiling pan and temperature probe). A couple of calls to our dealer resolved this issue within a month.
2. At only 4.3 cu. ft, and being a convection unit, I thought it would heat-up relatively quickly, but it doesn't. For example, it takes about 11 minutes to reach 325 degrees. My old non-convection Maytag range, with a 5.1. cu. ft. interior, reached that temperature in about the same time.
3. Baking results were uneven for the first few months, which is really a function of selecting the right temperature and cooking time. However, even when following the instructions in the User Manual word-for-word, cookies would still sometime bake unevenly. However, we eventually worked-out an optimal time/temperature formula.
4. The fan is noiser than expected.
On the positive side:
1. The temperature probe is accurate. Stick it in your meat, set your desired temperature, fire-up the oven, and you'll be satisfied with the results.
2. The self-clean feature works well, but expect a (very) warm kitchen.
3. The red and blue digital display is pretty funky, and the "plinking" beeps that emanate from the unit when the timer comes to an end is not irritating -- almost pleasing, in fact.
4. The bread-proofing function works as advertised (as long as your unit is shipped with a broiler pan!)
Overall, if asked whether I would buy this unit again, I would answer that I would likely opt for a different manufacturer. I outfitted my new kitchen with six appliances from six different manufacturers, and this KitchenAid oven is the only appliance that failed to blow me away. It works okay, but for the money I expected something somewhat faster, quieter and "more intelligent".
