Hotpoint Class 6 SI6 874 SH IX Single Built-in Oven Review

The Hotpoint Class 6 SI6 874 SH IX Single Built-in Oven is potentially a baker's dream come true as it claims to cook evenly on every shelf. When it comes to the best ovens, this sleek electric oven integrates into a kitchen cabinet and has user-friendly digital controls. Use the pre-sets to make sunken Yorkshire puddings and sad cakes a thing of the past. Banish that bulky air fryer to the back of the cupboard and rediscover the joy of a Sunday roast cooked old school. This Hotpoint oven has Eco Forced Air, making it an energy-efficient cooking form. Plus, with a 73-litre capacity, batch cooking over five shelf heights yields leftovers for a week. Let's find out if Natalie has learned to love her oven after more than 10 years without one.

Hotpoint Class 6 Oven Overview

This multifunctional oven with automatic pre-sets takes the guesswork out of baking and makes oven cooking convenient. Like a microwave oven, the controls are touch-based. It has an A+ energy rating and uses 0.91kWh per cycle on Conventional. Even better, on Eco Forced Air, it consumes just 0.70kWh per cycle. Also, this elegant and minimalist electric oven has a Diamond Clean hydrolytic cycle that loosens food debris and grease with steam so the oven can be simply wiped clean.

The Haier I-Message Steam Series 2 HWO60SM2S9BH is a premium competitor at RRP £849 which offers Wi-Fi connectivity. The Bush BIBFOBAX Built-In Single Electric Oven is a top analogue oven retailing at £305. Currently priced at £350, the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6 874 SH IX Single Built-in Oven rivals the Haier with its automatic cleaning cycle and range of cooking functions. While it lacks app compatibility, for its price point this is a stylish appliance with some premium features.

Testing The Hotpoint Built-in Oven

What was the product tested for?

The USP for this oven is that it can cook multiple dishes evenly with its Forced Air feature. To test this, I batch-cook a variety of foods on three shelves. My thermometer will illustrate the accuracy of the oven temperature. Also, I try out the manual and pre-set functions and rate their usability. I roast a whole chicken using the Poultry setting. I use Eco Forced Air to roast gammon and see if it cooks thoroughly. My partner compares the cooking instructions on a frozen store-bought pizza to the pre-set Pizza function's automatic time and temperature. He also bakes a cake using the manual settings. And after all that cooking, I test the effectiveness of the Diamond Cleaning cycle.

What Were The Results?

My partner and I are at opposite ends of the analogue vs digital spectrum. This oven is an excellent case in point. The last time I used an oven, it had knobs. I've been on a journey with multicookers, air fryers and combination microwaves, so I understand how digital controls and pre-sets work. After a month of testing the oven, we've ended up using it in entirely different ways. I'm all for the convenience of a pre-set, while my partner prefers to follow the cooking instructions and manually set the temperature.

Performance

This oven is so quiet that I had to take a leap of faith and believe it was on. After five minutes, a very quiet fan kicks in. On the first couple of uses, I crouched by the oven, listening. I'd award it Quiet Mark if I could!

The Conventional setting cooks food on one shelf only. I put a homemade lasagne on the middle shelf. I manually set the oven to 190°C for twenty minutes. After five minutes of pre-heating the thermometer was 180°C rising to 190°C. I used a thermometer several times during testing, and the temperature was consistently accurate. It cooked evenly without burning, and there was a lot of cheese on it. Alternatively, I could have used the Casserole pre-set.

My photos show the internal light. It's even brighter when you open the door. During cooking it provides ample visibility to see your food cooking on all five shelf positions – brilliant!

Poultry function

The Poultry function selects the optimum temperature for cooking meat. It claims to prevent food from drying out by activating the fan intermittently at low speed. It defaulted to 220°C and I set the timer for one hour 30 minutes (relative to the size of the chicken). My thermometer confirmed that the oven came to a perfect 220°C temperature during the five-minute preheating stage when it began the cooking phase.

Forced Air

I used three shelves to test the Forced Air technology. Batch cooking baked potatoes (in foil), simple roasted vegetables and a tuna pasta bake. Plus, individual non-cheesy portions for easy lunches. The aim was to see if everything cooked evenly. This function is for cooking different foods on several shelves that require the same cooking temperature. It claims to cook different foods without odours transferring from one food to another. My baked spud and veg didn't taste remotely cheesy or fishy.

Baking cakes

My partner baked a show-stopping cake. With guidance from Mary Berry, he said this sort of sponge should take 20-25 minutes to cook in a 180°C oven. The pictured sponge cake took 23.5 minutes.

In the instruction manual, Leavened Cakes guidance suggests a temperature between 160–180°C. We cooked at 180°C for slightly less time than the cooking guide states (30–90mins).

I asked my partner if he set the timer when cooking, and he said that he "just kept on pressing OK", and rather than a countdown and a beep at the end of the cooking time, the timer counted upwards.

Eco Forced Air

Eco Forced Air is for cooking roast meat on a single shelf. Food stays moist with gentle intermittent air circulation. I bought a gammon joint, which stated on the packaging that it cooks in 55 minutes. I was interested to see if cooking performance was diminished by using an Eco cycle. The interior light turns off during cooking. Plus, the door should not be opened until food is completely cooked, using this function. Although this is a super quiet oven, I heard the fan completely cut out and restart from time to time. It cooked perfectly and was deliciously succulent.

Usability

If you are worried about vampire devices consuming electricity, the chances are you switch your oven off at the wall. If you do, don't bother with setting the clock as it will default to 12:00 each time you switch the oven back on. Otherwise, it is simple to set the clock using the up and down arrows and the OK/Select button on the digital display.

It's a logical left-to-right control panel, with the ON/OFF button on the far left, then the Manual or Automatic function selection. The display is in the middle. On the right, there are navigation buttons for changing the temperature and time values, plus an OK/Select button to confirm the selection. Finally, when you're all good to go, press the Confirmation button on the far right.

Initially, I did find myself getting frustrated by selecting the wrong function or forgetting to set the temperature when the display had progressed to setting the cooking time. But there is a Back button for returning to the previous menu.

I found it difficult to work out how to extend the cooking time when using the timer. Also, I had to refer to the manual to work out how to cancel a cooking process. I found out that the OK/Select button ends a cycle that's in progress.

I often forgot to pre-heat the oven as I'm so used to an air fryer. Luckily, several of the pre-set cooking functions have an automatic preheating phase.

Finally, invest in a pair of cooking mitts as there's no grill pan handle.

Pizza: Use a pre-set or no?

The Pizza pre-set confused my partner. The supermarket pizza packaging recommended cooking at 180°C, whilst the pre-set defaulted to 200°C. My partner questioned, what is the point of the pre-set, especially if the temperature can be changed? To further the quandary, the instruction guide says frozen pizza cooks at 220–250°C. I think it's do with the thickness of the crust. Still, it was a perfectly cooked pizza using the manual settings.

Build

This oven integrates into a cabinet, either under-counter or at eye level. Hotpoint representatives installed the oven along with a Hotpoint CleanProtect Induction Hob. Installation took less than an hour and was a friendly and professional service. This appliance requires installation by a qualified technician and needs two people to lift and fit it.

There are three sources of heat: middle-back, a circular element that's next to the fan, an upper grill heating element, plus a bottom heating element that's not visible.

Be aware the oven door is quite springy. If you're putting things in the oven make sure you fully open the door. Anything less than half way and it will spring up.

The interior light is fantastic, illuminating every corner and you can see your food cooking. This made a massive difference in knowing when food was ready.

The exterior is easy to wipe clean as there are no dials. It's a sleek, reflective and flat display.

Cleaning the interior

After a month of use the oven had some grease staining and it smelt. So, I was eager to test the Diamond Cleaning programme.

Diamond Clean is a special low-temperature cleaning cycle that allows food residue to be removed. I poured 200ml of cold water on the bottom of the oven. Note that this must only be done when the appliance is cold. No cleaning detergent is needed.

Running the 35-minute cleaning cycle produced effective cleaning results, and the oven smelt a lot better for it. It did a great job on the interior glass door. I just sopped up the dirty water with an absorbent cloth.

Final Verdict: Hotpoint Single Built-in Oven

The Hotpoint Class 6 has so many features compared to the Bush BIBFOBAX equivalent. It's just £45 more and has a larger capacity, automatic pre-sets, turbo grilling and a self-cleaning cycle. In comparison to the Haier I-Message Steam Series 2, the Hotpoint competes with a similar energy rating, range of programmes and capacity. This Hotpoint is ideal if you're comfortable with digital controls but are not ready for a Wi-Fi-enabled oven.

My partner won't use the pre-sets and timer. He finds it simple to select the Conventional oven setting and adjust the temperature. Whereas I'm a bit more experimental with the functions and thought the Poultry pre-set cooked extremely well. Neither of us have burnt anything yet.

To conclude, this oven is pretty full-proof, whichever way you choose to cook in it. So, my partner can have his cake and eat it. And I'm very happy to have an oven back in my life.

Rating 4/5

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FAQs

Is there a standard size for single ovens so I know it will fit?

While there isn't a universal one-size for single ovens, there are common sizes that many manufacturers adhere to for compatibility with standard kitchen cabinetry. In Currys' guide on how to measure for a built-in oven, the article gives guide-line measurements of between between 45.9cm and 60cm for height. Width and depth vary less: "The width and depth should be standard. The width will be 54 to 57cm and the depth is always 59.5cm."

It's important to measure the space where you intend to install the oven to ensure a proper fit. Consider the depth and height of the oven, if it's a built-in model, to ensure it fits within your kitchen layout. Always check the specifications provided by the manufacturer for precise dimensions before making a purchase.

What does kWh measure?

In the context of an electrical appliance, a kilowatt hour or kWh refers to its energy consumption over a specific period of time. It's important to note that an oven uses different amounts of energy depending on the cooking function. In general, oven power ranges from 900–3,600 watts (0.9–3.6kW).

For instance, if you use your oven for one hour at a power level of 2kW (2,000 watts), it will consume 2 kilowatt-hours (2 kWh) of energy. Similarly, if you use it for two hours at the same power level, it will consume 4 kilowatt-hours of energy.

Knowing the energy consumption of your oven can help you estimate its operating costs and make informed decisions about energy usage and efficiency. It's also useful for comparing different oven models to choose one that meets your energy efficiency requirements.

Ovo Energy has a guide on kWh explained for further examples of appliances and their energy consumption.

Knowing the unit cost of electricity will help you to work out how much it costs to run an appliance. Ofgem lists the current regional energy charges.

A smart meter or an appliance that has a specialised app are a couple of ways of working out how much it costs to run. Also, manufacturers will state the appliance's energy rating and kWh energy consumption in the product's specification.

The Energy Saving Trust states that between 1 January and 31 March 2024, the unit cost of electricity is 29p per kilowatt hour (kWh).

You can work out how much your appliance costs per use with this equation:

Appliance Power (W) x Amount of Time Used (p/h) x GBP per kWh (0.29) / 100 = Price Per Use

The amount of Time must be in decimals (0.5 is 30mins, 1.5 is 90mins)

For example, running a 2000W oven for one-hour costs 0.58p (2000 x 1 x 0.29 / 100).

This Sust-It Energy Calculator does the maths for you. In addition, if you're looking to compare the energy efficiency of an ovens before you buy, Sust-It can rank single ovens based on their running cost in line with the current unit cost of energy.

For more information on energy efficient kitchen electricals, read our guide on the best appliances to save you money.

Who Tested It?

Natalie Knowles is a Commercial Content Writer for A Modern Kitchen. She's been testing kitchen appliances at Bauer Media for nearly two years. She provides relatable accounts of using air fryers, multicookers and coffee machines in her own home as she equips her flat with kitchen essentials. Having been subsisting on countertop cooking appliances for over ten years, finally, Natalie gets an oven.

How The Product Was Tested

The Hotpoint Class 6 SI6 874 SH IX Electric Single Built-in Oven was tested for a month in a domestic environment. Natalie used a range of bakeware (including silicone) to cook roast dinners, grill chops, batch cook and bake cakes... and heat up a pizza:) Natalie tested the temperature accuracy using an oven thermometer. Also, she has used a range of manual and pre-set cooking functions. Finally, she tested the effectiveness of the steam cleaning cycle.

Natalie Knowles is a Homes & Garden Product Writer for A Modern Kitchen, specialising in kitchen appliances. When she's not testing coffee machines, she flexes her creative flair as an artist.