Built-in ovens are renowned for their ability to slot into virtually any kitchen setup. Whether installed at eye-level or below your cooktop, you will enjoy the diverse range of programs on offer. From roasting to baking, built-in ovens are continuously evolving to cook your food more evenly and in a timely way that suits your lifestyle. Discover a range of built-in ovens on Appliances Online from brand such as Westinghouse, Bosch, Fisher & Paykel, Ilve, Electrolux, and more. Before you grill us about the differences between the various types of built-in ovens, allow us to present you with this buying guide to make your decision much simpler.
Types of Ovens
Single Wall Oven
By far the most popular type of built-in oven, a single wall oven can be installed into a cabinet cavity or underneath your benchtop. Installing the unit at eye-level means you can keep track of how your dish is coming along. There are single wall ovens that meet the needs of solo dwellers, as well as 90cm units that will feed an entire family. Packed with functions, and with the choice of dial or touch operation, there’s a single wall oven to suit all cooking preferences.
Double Oven
First of all, purchasing a double oven does not mean you’ll get a unit that’s twice the capacity of your main compartment. Usually, a double oven will consist of one primary compartment and one secondary compartment. Some double ovens feature universal programs across both compartments, while others have separate programs for each cooking space. These units must be installed into existing cabinet slots. They are great for households that share plenty of meals across different courses, or for people who love to entertain. If you’re cooking something small, you can save energy by only utilising the lesser compartment.
Pyrolytic Oven
Cleaning the inside of your oven gives the act of cooking an unpleasant aftertaste. With a pyrolytic oven, you can enjoy your meal and leave the cleaning to the oven itself. When the pyrolytic cleaning mode is selected, the oven heats up to around 500°C to reduce grease and food remnants to ash. This ash can then be discarded with a few wipes. Often, these ovens will feature a low, medium, and high cleaning setting, so no grime build-up is too severe. Apart from being highly convenient, this also mean you won’t have to use harsh chemicals on your oven’s interior.
Oven with steam
A steam oven is ideal for those who want to maintain the moisture and nutrients of their cooked food. The vast majority of steam ovens are built with ‘combi-steam’ functionality, meaning you can enjoy steam cooking and convection cooking in the one unit. These ovens are great if you cook a lot of rice and vegetable dishes, and they’ll also perform well with fish and pudding. Many compact ovens have combi-steam functionality, so you can purchase one of these units to accompany a larger wall oven. Another bonus of steam ovens is that they are easier to clean—the added moisture means food doesn’t stick to the interior as easily.
Ovens with separate grill
If you have the space for a double oven but you don’t require a whole heap of cooking functions, an oven with separate grill is worth considering. Bake a cake in the top oven compartment while grilling fish down below, without the worry of mingling odours. Prepare cheese on toast for the kids after school while you work on perfecting your roast up above. The door of the grill compartment will need to left open while operating due to the extreme heat generated.
Compact oven
Having a small kitchen should not interfere with your ability to cook delicious meals. Thankfully, there is an extensive range of compact ovens for the spatially-challenged. Many ovens of this size combine the versatility of a multifunction oven with the speedy convenience of microwave cooking. These ovens can do a lot for their diminutive size, with models available for combi-steam cooking and pyrolytic cleaning. The majority of compact ovens are 45cm high, giving you flexibility around installation. Install below your benchtop, on top of a single or double wall oven, or next to a built-in coffee machine. They provide a seamless, flush look and, in some cases, can help you save counter space by performing the duties of your traditional benchtop microwave.
When the Price is Right
With the cost of living always on the rise, being budget conscious is more important than ever. Thankfully when it comes to home appliances, like our Ovens, you can always find one that suits your needs and won't break your bank. To make things as easy as possible, we've already put together all of our budget friendly models in one easy click. Remember, cheap doesn't mean bad - it just means you get the items you are after, at a great deal!
Choosing an Oven by Fuel Type
Before you start thinking about the style of built-in oven that will suit your cooking needs, you must determine whether you want a gas or electric unit. Apart from the connection points available in your home, you’ll also need to consider your budget and the types of dishes you’ll be cooking the most.
Electric ovens
- Outnumber gas models across the market
- Generally provide more even heat distribution, especially when equipped with a fan
- Will require pre-heating, but this process is becoming faster due to technological advances
- Generate drier air which can assist with crisping and browning
- Most units need to be hardwired by a certified electrician; however, some ovens will come with a plug and lead suited to a particular amp rating.
Gas ovens
- Tend to be more expensive than electric models upfront, but cost less to run over a longer period of time
- Cook with greater moisture, making them ideal for cakes and roasts
- Provide instant heat and temperature control
- Generally contain fewer parts, so they are easier to maintain
- Can run off natural gas or an LPG bottle (to be exchanged or refilled once it runs out)
Kitchen Layout
The right oven can help you spend less time in the kitchen by helping you cook more efficiently, but true efficiency begins at installing your oven in a streamlined manner that suits your cooking habits. Here are a few things to think about before installing a built-in oven.
- Cabinetry considerations: Installing your oven flush within cabinetry is a great way to give your kitchen a contemporary look. You can create a centralised cooking hub by going for a “tower effect”, whereby you install a microwave oven above a single or double wall oven, adjacent to your cooktop.
- Installing below cooktop: A classic kitchen setup, installing an electric oven below your cooktop is a clean aesthetic touch. Some brands offer an electric cooktop and oven combination, whereby two separate appliances are powered by the same controls and run off the same power source. These packages can help you save a bit of money.
- Kitchen island installation: Islands are built in the centre of a kitchen, and food is often at the centre of warm gatherings. Installing an oven within a kitchen island means you can utilise the surrounding storage space for your trays, racks, and other accessories. With a big enough island, you can install two ovens to prepare multiple courses simultaneously.
Oven size
When shopping for a built-in oven, it’s important to consider both external dimensions and cavity size. Your range of options depends on whether you’re replacing an existing oven or installing a new one from scratch. If you’re replacing, you are generally limited to a particular style and size of oven. The standard wall oven width is 60cm, enough to take care of most cooking tasks. Other common widths include 75cm and 90cm, and these units are better suited to families or people who like to entertain.
The width of an oven’s facade is not always a reflection of the volume within, though, so it’s important you take a look inside. Using a single wall oven as a guide, a small capacity is anywhere between 30 and 45 litres. 45 litres to 70 litres is the average, and any capacity greater than 70 litres is on the larger side.
Self-cleaning measures
Pyrolytic ovens
Earlier in this guide, we explained the basic function of a pyrolytic oven. To recap, pyrolytic ovens contain a self-cleaning mode that heats the oven to around 500°C to reduce grease and food scraps to ash. This ash is easily disposed of by wiping down the interior when the oven has cooled. Here are some further pointers relating to pyrolytic ovens:
- As a safety measure, the oven door will stay mechanically locked during the cleaning process, which generally lasts for about three hours.
- It’s important to remove all stainless steel shelves and side runners before beginning a pyrolytic clean.
- Pyrolytic cleaning will take care of residue on your oven walls, but you will need to manually clean the racks and the inside of the glass door.
Catalytic liners
Catalytic liners are another self-cleaning measure built into many ovens. These panels may cover just two sides of the cavity, but they sometimes cover the back and roof as well. The liners are coated with special enamels that assist in absorbing grease and breaking down food spills. When the self-cleaning mode is selected, the oven will heat to 200ºC or higher and the liners will get to work.
- It is recommended you run your oven’s self-cleaning program about once a month.
- Over time, the liners can accrue excess grease and therefore lose their effectiveness. To get rid of this build-up, run your oven’s Hot Air cycle (or similar mode) at around 250°C when the cavity is empty. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
- If properly maintained, catalytic liners should last the lifetime of your oven.
Common oven programs
You’ll find a multitude of cooking programs across the ovens of different brands. It’s an exhaustive list, so here a few that are widespread and particularly handy.
- Fan-forced: Great for when you have dishes cooking on multiple shelves, the oven’s fan will pick up hot air from a nearby element and distribute it evenly throughout the oven cavity.
- Conventional: Your food is cooked with heat from the top and bottom elements, without any fan assistance. The oven produces a gentler heat, making this mode ideal for foods that require a longer cooking time. When using this mode, the positioning of your dishes is crucial.
- Fan grill: Heat from the oven’s top element combines with the fan for a more complete grill. Ideal for roasts, fish, and vegetable bakes, you can confidently use this program with the door closed. If you’re looking to achieve the effect of grill lines, this is the program to use.
- Grill only: Also known as flash grilling, this mode will grill your food using the top element and nothing more. It’s suitable for small cuts of meat, cheese on toast, or browning the top of a lasagna. Multifunction ovens generally allow for closed-door grilling, whereas ovens with a separate grill require the door to be open while grilling.
- Defrost: Air is circulated around the frozen food without any heat for slow and gentle defrosting. As a guide, a 500g portion would generally take about 30 minutes to defrost. Using your oven to defrost is best suited for cakes and bread. Meat, fish, and poultry would benefit more from fridge defrosting. Defrosting in a microwave can sometimes result in your food slowly cooking from the outside.
- Bottom element: The oven uses heat from the bottom element only. This is the mode to use for homemade pizza, as well as for any pastries that require a crispy underside.
Doors
Side-opening ovens: You will notice that some built-in wall ovens are made with a door hinged on the left or right, as opposed to the bottom of the cavity. The main advantage of a side-opening oven is that it saves you the trouble of hunching over when you need to check on your cooking or rotate a tray. It also makes removing your food a bit safer, as you don’t have to lift heavy meals over an open door. A side-opening oven can also be worthwhile if someone in your family has a disability.
Cool-touch doors: Many ovens are equipped with triple- or quadruple-glazed doors, allowing you to touch the outside of the door without burning your hand. These doors are especially useful if you’re installing the oven below your benchtop, where kids and pets might come into contact with the appliance.
Cleaning: The inside of the door is the part of your oven that will always require a manual clean—no self-cleaning units look after this component. Some ovens will have a removable door, which makes it possible to lift off individual layers of glass and eliminate grease that is trapped between.
Accessories
Telescopic runners: Attach these to your side racks to allow smooth pulling of shelves and to access your dishes more freely. Some brands offer telescopic runners for convenient clipping across any level of your oven.
Pizza stone: As an alternative to bottom element heating, you can purchase a pizza stone for your oven. Usually made of ceramic or stone, a pizza stone holds heat more evenly, and usually absorbs moisture from dough for a deliciously crispy finish.
Wire rack: Handy for baking enthusiasts, a wire rack is the ideal kitchen companion when it comes to cooling down cakes and pastries. For added versatility, you can even use this apparatus as a roasting rack for meat or veggies.
Baking tray: As the name suggests, this is your go-to accessory for baking everything from bread and cakes to jacket potatoes and fish fillets. One baking tray is usually included as standard with a new oven.
Grill tray: An oven essential, a grill tray will either come in the form of a simple wire rack or a perforated anti-splatter grid. The perforated grid is especially useful if you cook a look of high-fat foods that “spit” oil, like sausages. The tray can capture meat juices that you can repurpose as an ingredient in homemade sauces.
Cooking Packages
If you are renovating and need a complete ensemble of cooking appliances - oven, cooktop, and rangehood - purchasing a cooking package is a smart way to go. Some packages even contain a dishwasher. Not only will a package save you money compared to buying appliances separately; you will also have a kitchen that looks visually cohesive.