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Every time I see a new small kitchen appliance I get major infomercial vibes of the “it slices, it dices, it makes mounds of julienne fries” type (or, if you like deeper cuts, this Tom Waits song). And don’t get me wrong: A lot of these appliances work really well. Sometimes it just feels like they’re trying to shove too many features into one countertop box. Amid all the 27-in-1 pressure fry bakers, though, there are still actually multitasking kitchen appliances that turn out to be fantastically useful. Exhibit one: the Fotile 4-in-1 Chefcubii combi steam oven.
Steam ovens are not new; industrial steam ovens in restaurants have long been a thing. Pricey ranges can include steam options; part of the point of baking bread in a Dutch oven is to mimic what you might get in a steam oven—water from the dough releases as steam in the closed pot, creating a humid environment for the bread to bake in. The Fotile is a nice addition to the steam-oven landscape, though. It has a slick interface and offers plenty of cooking space. Like a lot of good countertop ovens, it takes up some space on the counter (it’s 18x19x14"). But it also really is a second oven and quite possibly a second oven that’s better than your regular oven.
Why get a steam oven? And how well does this one work?
Steam baking, which adds steam into a hot oven, helps breads of all kinds rise completely as they bake. Steam capability is also great for baking more delicate items like custards. It can offer the same protection as a water bath without actually needing to use a water bath.
The one downside I found when I was steam baking with the Fotile was that the bottoms of my breads could come out pale. This was true on both no-knead and standard white sandwich loaves, but after some experimentation I found that adding five to seven minutes in the oven solved the problem. What I did get on both was a golden crust that produced a satisfying hollow sound when knocked and a pokeably soft interior—the kinds of results I generally need a Dutch oven to produce with my standard steamless range. The joy of not needing to preheat or place bread dough into a 475℉ Dutch oven is substantial.
This oven also makes it simple to switch between modes for a single cook. I made bagels, using the Fotile to proof, steam (which works great in place of boiling), and bake, pulling off the whole process in about an hour and a half. Turning out fresh bagels in 90 minutes alone is enough to score high marks from me.
One thing to note with this particular model is that it was seemingly designed to run off of Celsius rather than Fahrenheit, so the pre-set temperatures for various bakes might look a touch unfamiliar at first (e.g., 356℉, which is 180℃, instead of 350℉). But the slight variations had no real impact on anything I cooked.
What else does the Fotile do?
Because this is 2023, the Fotile is a multitasker. If anything, the name “4-in-1” actually undersells what it can do a bit.
First, the oven works as a steamer as well as a steam oven thanks to a water tank that sits at the base of the oven. The steam capabilities allow fast, easy cooking for dumplings or vegetables. The Fotile even works as a rice cooker. I put a bowl of uncooked rice in water inside and about half an hour later had stellar sticky rice. After doing all my steaming in collapsible pieces like this I didn’t know how nice, clean, and easy it could be to just stick a tray of dumplings or broccoli or a bowl of uncooked rice in an oven and have it come out ready.
It also works (1) as an air fryer (an amped-up convection oven) by cutting off the steam’s entry and using a powerful fan to circulate air; (2) as a dehydrator with the addition of a humidity-control chip that lets water vapor escape, slowly drying out food; and (3) as a proofing drawer by offering temperature control well under 100℉. While the real reason to get one remains its steaming, the oven admirably produced crispy potatoes and golden broccoli as an air fryer—and bountifully risen bread and bagel dough as a proofer.
The takeaway
After carefully putting bread dough in a 475℉ Dutch oven more times than I can count, steam baking was an eye opening experience. Toss in everything else that same oven can do and you’ve got a winning piece of equipment. It’s become a crowded world of do-it-all countertop cloggers, but most of them do basically the same things. The Fotile Chefcubii actually offers some different ways of cooking, and if you’ve got the space, it’s worth a splurge.
