Option 1 won't give you a toaster.

a MW/convect oven does not make toast. I have the Sharp. And a toaster.

I can use the sharp to melt cheese on something (like nachos), but it takes a while to heat up on Convect. Putting it under the broiler in the oven is much faster. So too a toaster oven, I suppose.

I use it to bake most anything that will fit inside. It takes a while to preheat but I just add 5 minutes to the cooktime. I generally don't use the combination modes because I am not used to them and the temperatures are fixed.

I'm not sure why you need a trim kit to place it on a shelf, but that is up to you.

For what you want it to do, it sounds like you need a separate toaster or toaster oven.

Perhaps I should clarify: I have a crummy erratic small 2-slice toaster which is adequate for round 1 of plain toast, and which lives in the pantry. My question pertains to a small oven for extra baking space. I believe that both the Sharp/Panasonic convection and Breville fill this niche.

I'd go for the cheap microwave and Breville oven.

I did the opposite in my kitchen (expensive Advantium and cheap toaster oven) because I'd rather use the oven for ovening than a toaster oven. The Advantium will toast, but not nicely. It's a great microwave, speed oven, and fine spare oven for what I put in it, which is mostly side dishes to reheat. I haven't used it for baking, but the reviews say it's not really great for that.

Everything I've heard about convection microwaves leads me to think that they're not any better at baking and probably worse. Better to let the microwave do the microwaving and the compact oven do the ovening.

We have the Panasonic convection microwave and the Breville convection toaster oven. Our main oven is a GE Monogram convection oven.

1. The Breville toaster oven is the best toaster oven we've ever owned. During Christmas visits my adult children dubbed it the magic oven. It toasts bagels perfectly because toaster settings can be customized. It bakes frozen pizza well enough that it can be considered more than barely edible in a pinch. It crisps homemade pizza to perfection. I have convection roasted game hens in it and cooked tuna to medium rare in minutes after searing it's edges on my cooktop. Overall it's one of the best small appliances I've ever owned.

2. The Panasonic does all of the above, has a larger capacity EXCEPT it is not a toaster.

We toast a lot of things that wouldn't fit in a regular slotted toaster so toaster ovens are a must for us. We live in Florida so we don't need two full size ovens. We also (contrary to most people, it seems) use a microwave oven as a full partner in our array of cooking appliances. (I don't know if it is still available but the Microwave Gourmet cookbook by Barbara Kafka is a great resource for fully utilizing a microwave oven. She has such great recipes that I often adapt the seasonings for use in a regular oven also). Thus, we are happy to have the Panasonic with the dual use capability.

Although we did our installation several years ago and I can't remember what we paid, I'm sure the $200 price quote for a Panasonic trimkit is way too much. You should check on line to try to get a better deal.

HTH.

I've had the Breville for about 4 months and it is my favorite oven ever. It essentially serves as my second oven because I don't have double ovens, and I find myself cooking in it far more often than my regular oven becuase it heats up faster and it cooks beautifully.

I can't speak to the Sharp convection micro, but in my experience, when a machine tries to be two things at once, it usually ends up doing neither function particularly well. And if it's going to be more expensive anyhow, then it's a no-brainer.

I've been considering this same thing. I own the 2.0 regular Sharp with 1200w of power. I think the convection is either 900 or 1000w. I told this to my husband and he said "NO WAY".

So instead of a Convection MW and a cheap end toaster oven (need it for home made bread) I'm going to keep my Sharp I have, and get a Breville. Now I have to decide on the regular Breville or the compact version.

does the Breville heat up a lot on it's outside - like below it on the counter top? it's sides?

did you do a search on Sharp, panasonic and breville here? i know there are threads on the Sharp and Panasonic.

The Breville defintely gets very hot on the top and sides - you do have to be careful - they do have warning stickers.

To cover the hot surface of the top, they sell a cutting board that has silicone (heat resistant) feet. Bamboo cutting board. Works very well.

Am amazed at how much I use the Breville as my primary oven. I really think that if I had two of these (plus The Big Green Egg outside) I wouldn't need a conventional oven at all! Well, hardly. I think the only time I would need the full size gas range oven is for baking biscotti or making a big pot of something like short ribs. We have just put in a Miele Chef Speed oven (which can function as a MW as well as an oven) and I am looking forward to seeing which things will be better in the Miele versus the Breville.

I came on GW today as I am deciding between a regular or convection MW in our kitchen reno (and also a countertop-in-a-shelf or an OTR, but that's for another thread. I also own the Breville Smart Oven (the larger model) and LOVE it! We use it for the primary oven for our family of 5 - I can easily use it even for roasts, full chickens, and anything up to a 9 x 13 pan (although it can't have handles beyond the 9 x 13). It preheats very quickly, and gives excellent results. It does take up quite a bit of countertop real estate, and does get hot on top and sides, so that is something to consider. It doesn't make "perfect" toast, no toaster oven does, IMO, but it is very good, and its toasting performance for other things (bagels, frozen waffles, etc.) far outweighs that.

I have heard about convection MWs still being a "work in progress", and not quite giving true convection oven results. If you're thinking about a MW and a Breville Smartoven, and have the space, I'd encourage that option.

Thanks for the replies! I have come to the same conclusion, and I'm pretty jazzed about the Breville. There are very few of anything kitchen-related where the consensus is so strong about quality and usefulness and functionality, and this Breville baby seems to be one of them! And thank you to the poster that confirmed that a 9x13 fits in the big one (the 800, as I recall). That is fantastic news.

I think we're looking at a Sharp (426 sounds right?) or there was another one that CR liked a lot, but regardless, a pretty good micro with 1.7 cu ft or something like that is under $200 and replaceable down the road, so I'm thinking it's a pretty good plan. Good luck to all on the decision!