Earlier this week I received a Calphalon Electric Extra Large Digital Convection Oven
to use in my baking classes. It seemed like it would be handy when I’m teaching in a space without a full size oven and it’s portable.
What I didn’t expect was that I would find a place for this in my own kitchen, not just for classes. After using it just once, I realized my kitchen was not heating up from the oven. I also noticed I waited only a few minutes for it to heat to 350 degrees.
For lunch today, I made Against All Grain’s grain-free pizza crust. This has quickly become my favorite homemade crust. I par-baked it on a piece of parchment atop a pizza screen. Here’s the really cool thing about this oven: it has a bump-out on the back that makes room for a pizza up to 12″ in diameter. I was able to make a full-size pizza without turning on my oven.
Then I topped it with Mozzarella Daiya, red onions, homegrown tomatoes and basil and a sprinkling of balsamic capers. I used the pizza setting on the oven. Yep, it’s got a pizza setting! There are other terrific settings, too, like bake, broil and even defrost.
Later this afternoon I made the beer bread that Kristen at Dine and Dish shared. I modified it to make it gluten- and dairy-free and it turned out great. When it is SO hot out, I don’t bake anything that takes an hour in the oven, but today I did! It’s so nice having this handy oven that does not add any heat to my kitchen.
Earlier this week, I made the zucchini brownies from Sweet & Healthy Living. I got a Calphalon Classic Bakeware Special Value 5-Piece Nonstick Bakeware Set
with my handy-dandy oven and can’t believe I’ve never had a 6-muffin pan before! This recipe was perfect for making only six brownie-cupcakes.
And just so you know I really am using this for it’s intended purpose, I used this nifty oven in my baking class on Monday evening to bake granola bars and chewy oatmeal squares. I love that I can have a small oven on the countertop where my students can see the baking happening, since I don’t work with the fancy Food Network in-oven cameras. This is seriously the next best thing.
If you’ve been in a baking class with me before, you know I am continually challenged by oven timers and usually have an old-school ticking timer on the countertop because oven timers make no sense to me at all. Well, that’s been resolved, too. This oven (which you can tell I’ve fallen in love with) has a simple dial that you turn to the amount of minutes you would like to bake. Once the oven reaches the temperature you desire, the timer does its thing and dings loudly enough you can hear it over a classroom of giggling students or the dishwasher running if you are using it at home. I’ve been in both settings and had no trouble remembering to pull food out. That’s HUGE for me.
So there you have it, the latest addition to my kitchen and my baking classroom that has me exclaiming, “How did I live without this?” The Calphalon Electric Extra Large Digital Convection Oven is perfect for so many things, especially hot summer days usually devoid of baking!
Full Disclosure: Calphalon provided this product to me for use in my culinary coaching classes. The opinions expressed are my own.
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