Description
Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro: what it is
The BOV900BSS is the largest oven in Breville’s Smart Oven range and one of the most heavily reviewed appliances in this entire catalog, with 11,878 customer ratings averaging 4.5 stars. The listing publishes a temperature range of 80 to 480 degrees Fahrenheit, knob controls, a dropdown door, a brushed stainless steel finish, dimensions of 17.5 inches deep by 21.5 inches wide by 12.7 inches high, a weight of 30.2 pounds and a 3.4 foot cable. The accessories are unusually complete: two oven racks, a mesh basket rack for dehydrating and air frying, a 9 by 13 inch broil rack with an enamel roasting pan, and a 13 inch pizza pan. It has been on sale since February 2017.
This is a full second oven rather than a large toaster oven, and that framing is the right one for the price. At 21.5 inches wide it occupies a serious section of counter and it does not get put away.
The temperature range is the specification that matters
Eighty to 480 degrees Fahrenheit is a wider span than almost anything else in this catalog, and both ends are doing work.
The 80 degree low end is dehydrating and proofing territory. Eighty degrees is warm enough to raise dough reliably in a cold kitchen and low enough to dry fruit, herbs and jerky over many hours without cooking them. The mesh basket rack included in the box is designed for exactly that, and it is a genuine capability rather than a listed feature nobody uses.
The 480 degree top end is what a pizza needs. Most countertop ovens stop at 450, and the difference between 450 and 480 is the difference between a base that dries out while the top finishes and one that browns in time. The included 13 inch pizza pan is not incidental.
Compare the compact Breville BOV650XL, which stops at 450 degrees and takes a 12 inch pizza, or the KitchenAid KCO124BM, which publishes no temperature range at all.
Air frying in an oven, honestly
Air frying is convection cooking with a strong fan and a perforated basket, and a large oven doing it has a structural disadvantage against a small basket machine: a bigger chamber means lower air velocity across the food. In practice a dedicated basket air fryer such as the Nuwave Brio crisps a portion of fries slightly better and faster.
What the oven gives back is capacity and shape. It air fries a full tray rather than a basket, it takes a 9 by 13 pan, and it does everything else an oven does. For a household choosing one appliance rather than two, that trade is usually the right one.
Highlights
- 80 to 480 degree Fahrenheit range, wide enough for dough proofing at one end and pizza at the other.
- Air fry and dehydrate functions with a dedicated mesh basket rack included.
- Takes a 9 by 13 inch pan and a 13 inch pizza, both included.
- Two oven racks plus an enamel roasting pan and broil rack.
- Knob controls, which stay reliable with wet hands and do not develop dead spots.
- Interior light for checking food without opening the door.
- 11,878 customer ratings averaging 4.5 stars, one of the strongest feedback profiles in this catalog.
- Still in production after eight years on sale.
Things To Consider
The cable is 3.4 feet long. That figure appears in the listing and it is worth acting on. A 30 pound oven that has to sit within three and a half feet of an outlet restricts where it can go, and extension cords are a poor idea with an appliance drawing this much current. Check the outlet position before committing to a counter location.
No wattage figure is published anywhere on this listing, which is an omission on an appliance of this size. Countertop ovens in this class typically draw between 1,700 and 1,800 watts, which is 14 to 15 amps on a 120 volt supply and effectively the whole of a standard kitchen branch circuit. Confirm the figure with Breville and plan on a dedicated outlet.
The footprint is large. Twenty one and a half inches wide by 17.5 inches deep is more counter than many kitchens can spare, and countertop ovens need clearance behind and above for exhaust, so the space required is greater than the dimensions suggest.
The exterior gets hot. That is true of every countertop oven and it matters more on one this size, particularly in a household with children.
The manufacturer description on this listing is a single line containing only the product name, so every specification above comes from the attribute table rather than from Breville’s written explanation. No published preheat time, no fan speed detail and no element configuration is given.
Who should buy it, and who should not
This suits a household that wants one appliance to replace a toaster oven, an air fryer and a dehydrator, and that has the counter space and the circuit to support it. It also suits anyone whose main oven is unreliable, small or too expensive to heat for a weeknight dinner, and anyone in an apartment or a holiday home where a full second oven is not an option. The exceptionally large and positive rating base makes this one of the safest purchases in the catalog.
Skip it if counter space is tight, where the compact BOV650XL covers the same ground at a smaller scale. Skip it if the only real requirement is fries and wings, where a basket air fryer is cheaper and crisper. And skip it if there is no outlet within reach on a spare circuit. Alternatives sit in the convection ovens category and the toaster ovens category.