Built-in ovens: How to buy the best oven Oven innovations

High-spec ovens come packed full of technology to make cooking easier. These two ovens from Neff and John Lewis show what manufacturers are doing to grab our attention as consumers.

Neff B46W74NOGB £1400

Slide away door

The striking feature is the slide-away door. It hides in the bottom of the oven so you won’t have to reach too far in, making loading and unloading heavy dishes easier.

One wheel controls everything

Wheel control

One wheel controls everything - it moves left, right, up, down and can be pressed in to select. You use the wheel to select the type of cooking, ie what combination of oven, grill and fan that will be used to cook the food. You also use the wheel, in conjunction with the screen, to set the duration of the cooking and to set the timer. So with one-touch control this is the perfect way to cook for the iPod generation.

 
John Lewis JLBIOS610 £699 

Steam your food with this oven

Automatic programs

Cook at the touch of a button without selecting the type of heat needed or the cooking time. We cooked a roast chicken, a quiche lorraine, a sponge cake and a frozen pizza. The chicken wasn’t very well browned and the quiche wasn’t cooked in the middle. But the cake and pizza were both good.

Steam cooking 

Water poured into the top of oven drips into a moat at the bottom and is used to steam food. The salmon, broccoli and potatoes we cooked were reasonably good but the oven lacks a steaming dish.

Memory

You can also create, save and name your own cooking programs.

Ovens reviewed by Which?

Which? has tested and reviewed 69 ovens from manufacturers including ovens from manufacturers including AEG-Electrolux, Baumatic, Beko, Belling, Bosch, Delonghi, Electrolux, Fagor, Gorenje, Hotpoint, Indesit, John Lewis, Miele, Neff, New World, Siemens, Smeg, Stoves, Whirlpool and Zanussi. 

Check out the Which? oven reviews for the latest Best Buys.