I take no notice of the price quoted in Choice reviews. In the real world products are considerably less.
Also, if you don’t want fancy features like steam or pyrolytic cleaning then there are plenty of 60cm multifunction wall ovens from reputable makers for under $1000.
We’re also looking at our options to replace a gas oven.
The previous two family homes had Westinghouse electric wall ovens. One circa 2000 and the other 2011. They both did the job, although not the best at pizza or for crackling on a roast. The Choice details in the reviews provide a good insight to how well each of these and other needs are met. This makes it possible to prioritise what is important, and which compromises might be OK to meet a budget. Perhaps a crackling roast is not that important. Considering the cleaning the oven might need some are happy to always use an oven bag and put off the inevitable.
While not the highest rated - the current Westinghouse version similar to the prior models we are familiar with is variously around or under $1000 at the big discount chains. Looking to each component of the Choice detailed scores there are other brands and models around the same price mark which rate better than Westinghouse, overall and on key performance results. Note Choice weights the ‘Ease of Use’ score as 40% of the overall score. The good and bad points which contribute to the result allow one to make a more informed assessment.
A standard domestic oven will always struggle with pizza as the top temperature is going to be no more than 250 C and for pizza more like 400 C is required, although 250 with bottom heat will be better than 250 with only top or fan heat.
Crackling is more a matter of technique as it is quite possible to burn it on the edges and still not be crispy all through in a hot oven. One method that I have found for a pork roast is to cook the roast normally until the desired core temperature is reached then take it out. Quickly strip off the cracking and then wrap up the roast to rest. Scrape the excess flesh and fat off the skin and return it to the oven in a wire rack over a pan. This allows the hot air to get all around it, you can crisp it up while the roast rests and it will drip in pan. If you balance temperature and time right (maybe turn it over after 15 minutes) it will be crisp enough to break in your fingers and not break teeth - which I have seen.
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I get very good pizzas with my fairly unsophisticated fan bake oven. No more than 230° needed. But a special pizza tray is a must to get a good crisp base. And rotating several times to avoid one side coping all the fan heat.
I am glad you enjoy them, nonetheless professionals choose hotter ovens and have done so for a long time.
True, as long as you don’t want them to be the same texture and flavour as a wood-fired or other specialist oven. There are reasons why high temperature ovens are used, if those reasons are not important to you by all means stick to what you have.
My experience, as a pizza lover. You, of course, can have your own opinion.
Yes, it’s a pizza, and as good as we can do at home. Does it taste the same? Not quite. It also takes a little longer to cook. Some toppings also benefit from the high temperature of a wood fired brick oven. It’s a compromise. Commercial pizza ovens can be wood, gas or electric. Even in Italy.
Whether all pizzeria crank these up to the 400+C of a traditional wood fired brick oven? Only the cook would know.
Will choice test ovens without cooktops soon? I found ovens with them.
I hope this topic and the linked Choice review is what you seek, last updated Sep 2022.
Near term tests and a request-a-test form (in addition to the request-a-test category on the Community) are listed at
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Hi Brendon. not looking for wall ovens, only the ones where I can add an induction cooktop.
Note your topic was ‘ovens without cooktops’. Thanks for clarifying that but still confused. Are you looking for a cooker having an oven and an induction cooktop all-in-one rather than a separate wall oven and separate induction cooktop? Separates do not depend on each other and can be mixed or matched to suit your needs.
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Ovens with no cooktop are generally called wall ovens. Depending on the size one could be mounted under the cooktop with appropriate cabinet work. You need to take the specifications of the cooktop and oven you like to a kitchen maker and ask them if they can do it.
I have a wall mounted 90cm oven that could have gone under my 90cm induction stove. An oven with a taller profile maybe not. They will need separate circuits which will be an added expense.
I much prefer the oven wall mounted as you can see into it and get food in and out without stooping.
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What’s been confusing us is that something called a stove is usually a single appliance with both cooktop and oven functions, either as a freestanding unit or a side-by-side (aka ‘elevated’) unit that will be mounted over a cabinet.
A cooktop is a separate cooktop-only appliance.
A wall oven is a separate oven-only appliance that’s designed to be installed in a wall cabinet. Some of these are sufficiently compact to be installable under a standard kitchen bench as well. The oven’s specifications should say if that’s possible.
An under-bench oven is designed to go under a standard kitchen bench, but can be installed as a wall oven instead, as @syncretic indicated.
If you want the oven to be under your cooktop, you can mix and match any cooktop with any oven that’s either called under-bench or clearly states that it can be installed under-bench.
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Or that fits in the space and satisfies the installation procedure of both devices even if it doesn’t explicitly say so. There are limits to how close the equipment can be and if air circulation is required due to the need to disperse unwanted heat.
True! My point is just that it’s certainly safe to install it under the bench if its specs say it can be. 
