I've never used a oven before. There never was one at Hillview and mum and dad didn't even have a microwave till a few years ago after I've moved out. An oven always seemed like a 'luxury' item for a typical Chinese home. So when we renovated our new place, we didn't set up a build-in oven cabinet in the kitchen design. It seemed impractical to have a white elephant appliance at that time since we thought we weren't likely to be cooking much.
But as we started cooking on the weekends and surfing the web for recipes, an oven became something we miss. Most recipes we find includes an oven baking process and without one we were handicapped. And with a new design idea of a kitchen trolley, the space for an oven suddenly materialised.
So next came the research phase for an oven. There sure are a lot of brands out there. And they don't come cheap. Well I suppose if we were to use it regularly, the cost is going to justify itself. I mean, imagine baking your own double chocolate muffin ... now that's something I've been dreaming of doing for sometime now.
Eventually we decided upon Tefal's mid range ovens and went ahead with the Uno XL. *smile I've started to dream of the days where I can make delicious cakes and pastries with the oven. Now I just need to buckle down and start experimenting with the different techniques of baking. Oh and invest in baking tools as I go along. So look forward to more cooking pictures on the blog!
hi there, does your oven makes very loud noise when in the fan mode?
ReplyDeleteThe fan is very silent when in convection fan mode, or at least the one I have is. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the oven.
ReplyDeleteA little after thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI've gone online to try to find reviews on oven when I first started looking for one. And lo and behold, there wasn't much to work with. For some odd reason I couldn't find meaningful reviews on any oven. So I sympathise with anyone who is looking for an oven and happen to come by my blog.
I read somewhere that each oven is unique and has its own quirks. I suppose that might explain why no one does reviews on them since their opinions might be just as easily debunked due to variations in each oven.
That said, I would share my experience with my Tefal oven. And then it's up to the reader to judge for themselves. I'm using my oven as it is, whether anyone agrees with my comments or not.
So here goes, my Tefal Uno XL - The good. Fan is very quiet. The outer surface does not radiate heat - very important since the kitchen would be very hot if it did. Inner temperature keeps pretty well even though the sides of the door are not lined with an extra plastic foam-thing.
The not so good. Temperature gauge is not accurate, I think this is a common problem for most ovens. I used an oven thermometer instead. It seems to max out at 220 degree celsius even though the knob says it can go to 240.
The quirk of my oven. The right side is hotter than the left, so I tend to turn whatever I'm baking mid-way so each side gets an even crust.
Overall I'm very satisfied with my oven. It works for me as a beginner cook. I've made baked rice, fish, roasted pork, bread etc since getting it. And I definitely wouldn't trade it for another brand or model.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am intending to buy a convection oven too as I am recently doing a lot of baking.
Can I know if this oven is big enough to bake two layers of cupcakes at one shot?
Hi Leonard,
ReplyDeleteSorry I've not gotten to cupcakes yet. Still trying my hand at bread making :-) At 30L this is a pretty big oven and I'm sure it can fit most needs.
I've added another picture with a measuring tape in the blog post so you can visualise the setup. I suppose you could do two layers if you are making smaller ones. So long as your cupcakes don't raise more than 5cm in height (see pic measuring tape 3 to 9cm mark & +/- tray and mould thickness) you could fix a tray below. The top has ample space so you don't burn those before the ones on the lower tray are done.
Hope this helps with your oven hunt!
Hey pokpok,
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting up another picture and showing me the dimensions!:D
I have went to harvey norman and courts to check today and I love the size of this oven!
I will most probably be getting one of this too!:)
Thank you!
Is it easy to clean?
ReplyDeleteDon't really know how to answer this question. This is my first oven so I can't gauge how an oven can be easier to clean. I do recall the sales person saying something about self-cleaning inner side walls. But how does an oven self-clean ... it sounds so gimmicky.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll have to say you have to wipe it after cooking. It's pretty easy - take out the crumbs tray and wipe the inner wall with a wet cloth. The heating rods are fixed, unlike the Delice range but I just work around it. How frequent to clean depends on what you cook. If I am making roasted pork, I'll give it a good wipe after as the walls would be splattered with oil. If I was simply toasting a garlic bread, I'll go lazy and leave it.
Personally I don't mind the cleaning since I do most of the dishes anyways. I believe "If my wife and I want to cook, I have to accept the cleaning. Else it's takeaways or microwave dinner boxes every meal."
Hi, For roasting chicken, can the turnspit actually turned when the oven operating?
ReplyDeleteHi, sorry haven't tried roasting a chicken but judging purely on the mechanics of the turnspit ... I don't think it can actually turn. There isn't a rotary catch on the sides of the oven to turn the turnspit. You can be sure I'll update if I ever tried it, though you shouldn't hold your breadth on it. I'm never a fan of chicken ... prefer pork, beef and duck. It'll be a rare occasion when I cook chicken ;-)
Deletehey i just wanted to know how to preheat this oven. Whenever i bake the cake is not ready within the time stated in the recipe. so could u please tell me how to preheat this oven ?
ReplyDeleteHi there, you can preheat by turning the knob to the temperature you like, turn the timer and let it run till the green colour light on the temperature gauge lights up. Only when you reach the temperature you set do you put the cake into the oven and let it work its magic ;-) You can adjust the timer at this point for the timing you want.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I go with an oven thermometer instead of relying on the temperature gauge for more accurate readings. Also I'm always skeptical of the recipe recommended temperatures ... I have this odd perception that those are based off commercial grade ovens (it's baseless I know, but well thats just me) which can hold temperatures better.
So I would turn the knob one click higher than the stated temperature. Seems to work fine for me since I tend to open the door often to check on the food, which meant loosing a little heat here and there. You might want to do the same, give it a try and see how that goes.
hi...May I know the width and the depth of the oven? What is the max dimension of the baking tray that can be put inside? Thanks ~~
ReplyDeleteThe end to end exterior depth including the back bumper and handle is roughly 52cm, exterior width is about 46cm. The oven comes with a baking tray measuring 34x26cm. By a quick swipe of the measuring tape the max looks to be about another 2cm on both dimensions, 36x28cm.
DeleteIf you have a specific size you want to meet, you may want to bring a measuring tape to the store and measure it accurately. The dimensions I gave are a 30 seconds quickie estimate! ;-D
Hi! I agree that this is a good oven. I have the same one too. I love the size of it - it's able to fit the standard rectangle baking tray and muffin tins (25x32.5cm). I used to have the older model of Tefal - the interior was smaller and I could only fit in square trays (10inch). I've found a disadvantage, however... there's a couple of recipe's that I'm looking at that require only bottom heat... don't have that option in this oven. Oh well, will just have to improvise... Happy baking!
ReplyDeleteHi Marion, thanks for stopping by to share your experience. Glad to know there are others who are happy with the Uno XL. About having a bottom heat only option, I've never chanced on a model that had it. Maybe its on the ones I'm not looking (more expensive range) ;-) Would love to hear how you work around it!
DeleteHi, what's the lowest temperature for this oven? cant find it anywhere online.
ReplyDeleteHi kz,
DeleteThe lowest on the temperature knob is 100 degree celsius. And yeah, there is very little technical specs online. Even the Tefal websites do not list the exact size measurements nor functional specs. I find that weird.
thanks!
DeleteMay I know which country is your oven make? I'm currently searching for an oven to replace my faulty Tefal 5223 N series. Has been using it for many years already. It's made in France. Though is only 26L capacity, it serves me well. It's compact too.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria,
DeleteMy oven is made in China, as with most things these days ;-)
Hi
ReplyDeleteWould like to chk with u where the kitachen island rack was bought? Thx
Hi Celina,
DeleteThe kitchen rack is a Udden Kitchen Trolley from Ikea. Easy to put together. I have a picture of it at http://littlerascalproductions.blogspot.sg/2013/11/udden-kitchen-trolley.html.
Hi does this model have a fan mode? Can't seem to find the specs online. Tks.
ReplyDeleteHi, sorry for the late reply. For some odd reason I didn't receive a prompt for new comment.
DeleteDo you mean convection mode? If so, yes it does have a fan to spread the hot air around the oven for even heating.
Hi
ReplyDeletei am new to this oven. May I check with u, where should i place the crumb tray? Thanks!
Bee Lay
Hi Bee Lay,
DeleteHope you already have it figured out. If you haven't already, it is slotted right below the heating bars at the bottom of the oven. You can see it on the 2nd pic on the blog, its right at the 0.5cm height on the ruler on the left.
I bought this oven on impulse today at a Harvey Norman sale. Didn't quite like the Tefal delice model. Very glad to stumble upon this post :) makes this baking noob feel like it's a good choice! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Yu Ling,
DeleteThanks for dropping by the blog. Would love to hear your experience on the Uno XL too.
Hi, may i know have you tried baking muffins and bread in this oven ? Result ok ? Can this oven fit a 12 muffins tray size ? Thanks ! Anna.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna,
ReplyDeleteYeah I've baked bread, works fine. Just need to turn it halfway for even crust. But that's the quirk of mine. I've not tried muffins but at 30L it should fit a 12 muffin tray fine.
Thanks Pok Pok ! I bought the oven just today! And made banana cheese muffins ..
ReplyDeleteHi is this the same
ReplyDeleteAs or677e in best Denki now? There's an offer until tmr! Hope
To see ur reply hehe
Thanks'
Hi,
ReplyDeleteCan i check with you, for reheating of food and for making baked rice, do i use the convection mode or the top and bottom heating mode? Thanks alot for your help.
Sorry I've never used the oven to reheat food. For baked rice, it is semi-cooked over the stove and then thrown into the oven with top and bottom to get a nice crust. Hope this helps and happy cooking!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteJust want to ask if your oven's temperature drops a few degrees (>10C) and never rise back after putting your cake batter in?
I just got the same oven as yours and I'm experiencing this problem and i got the salesman to test their display oven (we put in a bowl of water) and it dropped just like mine. Just wondering if it's like that or I'm just unlucky:(
Hi Marcus,
DeleteYeah my oven looses heat too, so i'll usually set the knob a click above the recommended temperature to compensate. I don't notice any bad effects from the lower temperature though ... if anything ... it's usually a messed up batter mix that causes my cake and breads to fail :-P
Hi!
DeleteThanks for getting back to me! :) Oh..you mean the temperature dropped and didnt rise back up after you put your cake batter in and till the cooking time is done?
I baked a chiffon in it and although the temperature dropped, the cake turned out okay although I had to extend the baking time due to the lowered temperature after I put the cake in. :(
Hi Marcus,
DeleteYeah the temperature drops, sometimes more sometimes lesser. I find it depends on what I put in. A wetter batter is usually the culprit. Maybe try setting it a notch higher next time and see if that helps. Happy Baking!!
Hi folks, does the green light keep turning on and off while trying to reach its preset temperature? And it seems to take quite some time to reach 160 deg c. Is tis normal? Thanks for your reply.
ReplyDeleteHello Sabre,
DeleteYes that's how mine works but not sure if that's normal😄. And i just notice that when I put a pan of water (for baking cheesecake), the temperature cannot reach 160C or more no matter how long i preheat it.
Juz checked w tefal support, the green light suppose to be on only when it reached the preset temperature. She say mine cld b thermostat faulty.
DeleteSo you mean the green light isnt supposed to be on when we start preheating the oven? My oven has the same condition as yours, even when it has reached the desired temperature it still turn on and off. Can yours reach the temperature you have set though?
DeleteDid they ask you to send yours to their place for repairs?
Tried preheating to 240 as per instruction, but only managed to hit 190 deg c.green Light suppose to turn on only when at preset temp. Ya, they told me to bring back to the retailer since it is within 7 days.
DeleteI cannot imagine how many units of that model has problem. Mine could reach that temperature but cant reach the desired temperature if i put a pan of water in it before i preheat the oven. If the green light is only supposed to come on when it has reached the desired temperature then mine would be crazy because it comes on and off throughout the preheating time and even when baking time. 😔
DeleteWorse thing is my country doesnt have their service centre, only could send back to the retailer whose technician is as clueless as i am when i wanted ask them check.
Hi Marcus & Sabre,
DeleteMine turns on and off too throughout. I ignored the green button from the very start cos I read that build in thermometers in many ovens are usually not accurate when researching for oven model to buy ... so I bought an oven thermometer the same day I bought the oven.
Hello Pok Pok,
DeleteYes, at first i thought the green light is an indicator that the temperature has reached the set temperature but it's not. I actually wrote to the guys at Tefal and they replied:
"Hi
Yes this is normal but it will only turn off for a while and on again subject to the temperature. The temperature control of this oven is by mechanical thermostat but not an electronic one. As I explain earlier, when the temperature reaches a steady level, there will be a variation of +/- 20 C around the steady temperature. So even when the temperature reaches the set temperature, the temperature is changing.
If the oven shuts down at low temperature (green light off), then there might be a need to change one of the thermostats."
So I guess, as long as the oven can reach the temperature that you set then it's normal. Depending on how much the temperature dropped when you put your cake batter/anything in, can try setting the temperature by the required temperature plus the amount it dropped e.g if the recipe states baking temperature of 160c and the oven temperature drops by 20c after putting food in. Set it the preheat temperature to 180c so once you put your food in it will drop to 160c, just like how you reccommended. :) getting an oven thermometer is the best way to ensure temperature accuracy hehe
Actually green light on means heater stop heating. Only when green light nt on, heater is on. After some thorough testing w my super accomodating retailer, now my wife oven is working fine. Max reachable is 235 deg c, setting and actual temperature is off by arnd 5 to 10 deg C, perfectly acceptable. Convection fan and turning roaster is quiet too. Oven also doesn't give off a humming or weird sound too. all this was observed for the first oven. Batch qc issue.
DeleteYes, shld definitely invest in a oven thermometer. And a good practice shared by a baker, is to leave the oven open to cool down after baking. And yes, if recipe require it to b 150deg c, better set oven to 160 to 170 deg c. But one good thing abt tis oven is that it doesn't overshoot, only undershoot, not like cornell which can overshoot and cause charring.
DeleteHi Sabre,
DeleteDo you know the reason behind cooling down the oven with its door opened after baking? Just curious here :)
Oh, is there such a practice? My guess is to cool down faster and allow whatever smell lingering in the oven to dissipate. But a more impt thing to do is to set the temperature back to zero when done. A practice that is recommended in tefal instruction manual.
DeleteHi I bought this oven last week. Now experimenting with it. This blog is a nice start
ReplyDeleteHi, I chanced upon this blog & thank you for all the reviews. Intend to get this oven as well, but may I know how low can this oven cost during the sales?
DeleteHi Pok Pok,
ReplyDeleteI bought this oven recently and overall am quite pleased with it. except for issues like preheating (how to know it is preheated to the set temperature?)?), the green light button popping on off (what in the world that means) and the quick drop in temp.
I think all these issues could be solved with an oven thermometer. I googled for hours on Amazon and others for an accurate one but nothing attracts my attention. Any suggestions? thanks
Hi Kys Kys,
DeleteI think you are having the common concerns like many of us. Marcus and Sabre provided good advices in the comments above. I can't give any advice on thermometers as I didn't do any research before getting mine. But if it's any help, I'm using a WMF oven thermometer.
Hello Kys Kys,
ReplyDeleteThe best way to be sure that your new Tefal oven has preheate to your desired temperature would be to use an oven thermometer. One of the more well known brand i could think of is Salter. But mine was a normal one i bought from Target when I was in Canada. I just did a quick seach on amazon. They have quite a few of oven thermometers, even Salter. I'm sure ebay has too! You can always pop by your local baking supply stores, i'm sure they stock them too!
I think our tefal oven's thermostat i different from their larger digital oven cousins in the sense that ours doesnt beep or notify you that the oven has preheated to your desired temperature. We simply have to work our way around it and improvise :)
this oven is still out in e market n its selling 299. im thinking of gettin it mainly to bake macaronsvn cakes. do u think its worth it?
ReplyDeleteyou can buy this Tefal 1802 at $260 at Mega, Kallang Leisure. I have no issues with the oven except that the readings can be at 30C various with my oven thermometer. Then again, the question is which is correct.
ReplyDeleteThe oven's performance is ok for the price, tho I wish it has the bottom heating only function.
Hi. I have bought one tefal 1802 oven too. But could you please advice when i turn the button to choose top and bottom heater, is the fan automatically on as well? And what doed the last sign which like the fan logo indicate? I'm just a beginner to learn bake cake.
ReplyDeleteHi Yivon, the convection mode is the last one on the right. That's when the fan helps to move the heat around the oven for a more even cooking.
DeleteFor this tefal OF677E, it states oven temperature up to 240 degrees Celsius. Wondering if can proof my dough in it at about 38 degrees Celsius? Anyone tried before?
ReplyDeleteHi, can I know to bake bread and buns, which mode do you use? Convection or fan mode
ReplyDelete? Thanks.
Hello.. I'm thinking whether or not to get this oven coz my currently one is small n can only bake 1 tray at a time.
ReplyDeleteIs this oven capable of baking 2 trays of cookies concurrently (ie both trays get baked evenly at the same time)?
Thanks!
Jesslyn :)
Hi Jesslyn,
DeleteThere are two shelves if you can fit your bathing trays in. I don't find that they can get baked the same ... the one on top will get a little harder due to direct heat from the top heating rod.
Hi Pok Pok,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful post on the Tefal oven! One question though! My cakes don't get baked in the time mentioned in the recipes! The centre of the cake is kind of the issue! Would increasing the temp to 10/20 degrees extra solve my issue? Yet to pick an oven thermometer to know the correct readings of the oven!
Ish
Hi pokpok.It's been years..how is the oven doing? Hard to find reviews. Anyway I am shopping for mid-range oven and saw your review. How is the evenness? Looking at Panasonic cubic it the menu is preset. Also kenwood all steel( might get hot easily) your review has been helpful
ReplyDeleteHi I would like to ask, how is this work for a baking cookies? Never success for the third time? Any suggestion? Or this oven is not suitable for baking cookies?
ReplyDeleteThanks for blogging about the product. I will probably be getting one for my new flat soon.
ReplyDeleteI bought a used Uno XL oven recently. Got the same inherent problem of getting achieving 190C when temp is set to 240C. The thermostat cut out at 40-50C lower. I guess that is the reason why previous owner get rid of it cheap. Unable to achieve any good baking or roasting.
ReplyDeleteSo I dismantle the thermostat. This thermostat is surprising the very cheap toaster oven type, no sensing line, working by ambient temp sensing. I then bought a new replacement at $1.20 online. Meanwhile I bend the existing thermostat bimetallic strip... tested it. Viola.. the oven is back to normal operation... testing with baking cakes & roasting chicken with a referencing oven thermometer.
I have a different problem with my Uno XL, the temperature is consistently higher than what I set it to, e.g. I get 170c when I set it to 110c. I want to know how to fix/change the thermostat, any advice ? or link that I can follow?
ReplyDelete