If I had to pick one appliance that I would have to put in my new kitchen, it would be the Miele Speed Oven. You might think this small appliance is nothing more than a microwave with a toaster oven retrofitted to the inside. But you’d be wrong. Very wrong…
The Miele Speed Oven (H4082BM) is a full-blown convection oven in every sense of the word. It broils, it roasts, it does True European Convection. This oven can do everything the full-size Miele Convection Oven can and more. Miele originally designed the oven to be able to act as the sole, primary oven for a family of four. The inside is easily spacious enough to fit enough food for four people, if not more.
It is also arguably the most powerful microwave in its class, at 1000 watts. It has 15 operating modes, including an AutoRoast function geared specifically towards poultry and roasts, where the oven automatically sears the outside of the meat in order to seal in the flavors, and then automatically determines the perfect temperature to finish cooking at. This is literally a set-it-and-forget-it mode, and it works.Due to its size and voltage (it accepts 240 volts, whereas most Speed Ovens on the market currently only take 120 volts) it can cook food at mind-blowing speed. I’m talking about about an oven pre-heating to 350F in less than four minutes. To put that into perspective, a normal sized, high end electric oven will take around 11-15 minutes to get to 350 F.
Of course, Miele’s signature MasterChef modes are included as well, simplifying cooking to a level that even I can understand. (I’m no chef, says the wife…) With its ability to combine microwave and convection elements at the same time, defrosting times are also greatly reduced. Another feature that makes it a pleasure to use as the main oven is that the trays and racks are small enough that they fit in any sized dishwasher, making cleanup far easier than on a normal sized convection oven.
At $2,999 the H4082BM comes with a full-sized infrared broiler, and even a roast probe. For those who might not be able to stomach the 3k price tag, there is a separate model, the H4042BM, which is more or less the same oven, that retails at $2,049. Its the same specs, minus the roast probe and the Navitronic control system. The H4042BM substitutes an electronic knob control system for the Navitronic control system, thus eliminating a few of the more in-depth operating modes.
Pros: Replace two appliances with one, great automated cook settings, trim kit can be had for 27” and 30” applications
Cons: If you’re retrofitting in the place of an old micro, you may need an electrician to run a 240V outlet
I have this oven and I love what it does. But I hate how it looks inside! I have only had it one year and I cannot get the black stuff off the interior. I do clean it regularly and it looks horrible.
Don’t buy this oven. We’ve had ours four years and its been in the shop more than in our house (been there 3 months as I write this). Door switches fail, it condensates badly on long micorwaving jobs (i.e. potatoes!), control panel failure, etc. The same was true of our Miele dishwasher. After three years it had needed service twice and then the pump motor went out. The owner of the repair shop advised me it would be better to buy a new dishwasher of another brand (LG, Bosche, Whirlpool, etc.) as it was going to cost $1,200 to repair the Miele – and only 90 day warranty on the pump!