DeLonghi's Convection Toaster Oven RO2058 is a full-function cooking appliance capable of baking, toasting, broiling, roasting, defrosting and even rotisserie cooking using its own rotating turnspit. We loved this unit's roomy interior and adjustable rack system, which lets you use one rack, two racks or no racks, as the function dictates. We especially liked the interior light, which makes it easy to monitor the cooking progress. Besides the two wire racks, the appliance comes with a shallow bake pan with broil insert, a removable crumb tray and turnspit with mounting forks.

This model excels at roasting and baking, either on conventional settings or using its Fan Bake setting, which utilizes a convection fan to circulate the heated air throughout the oven. The Fan Bake setting is ideal for cooking all types of meats, casseroles, breads and convenience foods, such as pizza, refrigerator rolls and cookies. The heated air moves around the food, resulting in more even cooking, crisp exteriors and moist interiors.

The DeLonghi RO2058 also has a traditional bake setting, with temperatures from Keep Warm to Broil and a Slow Bake setting, which provides heat only from the bottom, thereby preventing scorched tops of delicate cakes and pastries. We found the temperature control dial required a bit of guesswork, since the dial has numeric markings only for 250, 320 and 390 degrees Fahrenheit, with tick marks in between, so, although you can set it anywhere from the lowest (keep warm-estimated at 200 degrees) to the highest (Broil-estimated at 450 degrees) you cannot set the temperature with precision.

An interesting feature is the baking tray, which actually slides into the oven using one of the three rack guides. This is especially helpful when rotisserie cooking since the shallow pan can be placed in the lowest position to catch the drippings. The pan can also be used directly underneath one of the wire racks to catch drippings when broiling or defrosting. The only negative we noticed with this design is the pan tends to tip slightly when pulled forward.

The rotisserie setting expands this oven's already large repertoire of cooking capabilities. A pork or beef roast or chicken (up to 4 pounds) can be put on the rotating spit and roasted to perfection. We achieved excellent results with a small roast beef. Cooking a whole chicken requires some extra effort since the legs must be tied to keep them from rubbing against the top or bottom of the oven.

We achieved mixed results using the toast function. The first batch of toast (using a cold oven) takes longer than average (approximately 7-1/2 minutes) to toast two large slices of rye bread to a medium brownness. Subsequent batches are considerably quicker (4-5 minutes). We found the dial setting (light, medium, dark) was true to its word, delivering accurate results so you can set the dial and let the machine do its toasting automatically. The timer winds down and shuts itself off at the end of the toast cycle. A ticking sound alerts you that toasting is in progress and a bell tone signals completion. For toasting just one side or melting cheese atop sandwiches or burgers, the broil function activates just the top heating element. Overall, this unit's quality construction and superb cooking performance earned high points in our ratings.


Pros: Six-slice capacity, interior light, rotisserie function
Cons: Imprecise temperature settings, slow toasting

Warranty
1 year