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- No preheating required
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- Eight programmes
- Can be noisy
- Skewers are a niche accessory
- Can dry some food out
You might know Bosch for its larger appliances, such as washers, or vacuums, but in recent years, it’s expanded the small appliance range exponentially. One result of which is the brand’s first air fryer, the Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB.
Sure, it’s late to the party, but for some buyers, it will have been worth the wait. This air fryer is packed full of features, offers plenty of capacity and it’s also compact and doesn’t take up too much room on your worktop.
It ticks all the boxes you might want from an Air Fryer and then some, and – surprisingly, given it’s a Bosch – it isn’t even all that expensive at £160.
Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB: What do you get for the money?
One of the most prominent selling points of the Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB is its capacity. Considering the footprint is fairly constrained at 309 x 388 x 314mm (WDH), it offers plenty of space inside at – 7.2 litres – inside, with a 23cm2 sq cooking plate. This isn’t the largest air fryer we’ve reviewed, but it does have enough capacity roast a whole chicken or up to five portions of chips.
Bosch really makes the most of this space, too, adding a grill, which allows you to cook on two levels, and skewers – although realistically, you’ll probably only use these features from time to time.
It’s not too heavy at 5.9kg, and its low height means it should be able to fit below wall cabinetry when not in use, making it more flexible for storage than similar capacity air fryers, such as the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300UK.
Another plus is that the exterior is sleeker than most. When it’s not cooking, none of the menu is on show: only a discreet on/off button. Bring it to life and the backlit touch-sensitive control panel at the front is as simple as you’d hope for, with seven preset programmes and a keep-warm indicator displayed neatly along the top, and buttons for toggling time and temperature at either side. There’s a final two buttons at the bottom for starting cooking and activating the interior light.
At 1800W, there’s plenty of power to help it reach cooking temperature fast. In fact, Bosch says there’s no need to preheat at all before you start cooking. That showed in energy consumption, though: one hour’s usage at 200°C consumed 0.75 kWh of electricity, which at a rate of 25p per unit would cost around 18p – a little more than you’d expect for an air fryer of this capacity.
And you’ll use more electricity if you choose to make use of the air fryer’s keep warm feature. It’s undeniably useful, though, keeping food heated for up to 30 minutes after cooking time so you can focus on preparing other parts of your meal.
What’s it like to use?
While some air fryers have a control panel that’s a mass of disordered icons, Bosch’s Series 6 Air Fryer’s display is pleasingly well laid-out and intuitive to use. The symbols for different foods are obvious, apart from maybe small pastries, which looks more like a general bake setting to me.
Fortunately, times and temperatures for each programme are shown in the instructions, and there’s some advice on an additional card as to what settings to use for different foods. If you’re not sure, there’s an “all-purpose” setting that runs for 15 minutes at 180°C.
Cooking time goes up to a maximum 120 minutes – unless you’re setting a dehydrate/low heat temperature of 40-80°C, which allows the option of up to 8 hours run time.
I liked that the Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB has a wide clear window, making it easy to see inside compared to some, and that the bright light can be turned on while it’s cooking. This means that there’s no need to open the drawer to check on progress.
Perhaps the only real criticism is that this air fryer is quite noisy when it’s in use: my decibel app measured around 48dB. I struggled to have a conversation over it, and it drowned out the alert sound it makes to remind you to remove the drawer and shake your food. The alert flashes on the screen, but if you’re more than a few steps away, the prompt is easily missed.
All the removable parts are dishwasher safe, which is brilliant, but if you’re not cleaning this way, getting all the grease off the clear window is something of a chore. It’s possible that the window might become obscured by build-up over time, so you’ll need to keep on top of cleaning.
How well does it cook?
Beyond the presets for each programme and a supplied inspiration card, there isn’t a lot of guidance for times and temperatures for different foods. The result is a certain amount of guesswork and checking involved before you find the right settings.
For example, there’s only one programme suggestion for frozen potato – fries – so I opted for this for hash browns. The programme was set to 180°C for 23 minutes; more of a long and low option than the fast, fierce heat usually suggested by other machines.
The drawer had enough space for 12 in with ease, which I turned halfway through cooking. After the air fryer had finished, the hash browns were nicely crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. More importantly, they weren’t dry – something I had anticipated with a long cooking time.
I used the same programme for making chips, using pre-soaked fresh potato pieces tossed in a small amount of oil. The suggested time for a 700g batch was 30 minutes, with two shakes (the air fryer alerts you at 20 and ten minutes), although I chose to toss them more frequently.
The resulting chips were evenly browned – impressive, given 700g is a large batch – crisp at the ends and soft in the middle. Many had also bubbled, giving more of a traditional fried appearance. Only one or two pieces were pale but otherwise, the chips all had a nice consistent look to them.
Roasting a whole chicken presented more of a problem. There isn’t a roast programme, although there is one for poultry. However, the guidance supplied only covers breasts and drumsticks, and the default temperature of 200°C appeared high for a whole chicken. I opted to lower this to 190°C for an hour. A 1.6kg bird fitted in the drawer easily and I turned it over halfway through.
After the time had elapsed, the chicken’s skin was crisp and golden-brown and was cooked through with clear juices. However, the breast was slightly dry, suggesting that it would probably benefit from a lower temperature or less time cooking.
Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB: Should you buy it?
Families who are looking for a versatile air fryer won’t be disappointed by this space-saving model. Plenty of cooking area space, quick, efficient cooking and a handy “keep warm” feature all go in its favour, as does the ability to pop everything in the dishwasher when you’re done.
That said, while there’s a good amount of space inside, it’s unlikely to meet the needs of larger families: for that, you may need to consider a bigger air fryer, such as Tower’s Vortx 11 Litre Dual Layer Air Fryer T17190. Similarly, if you need enough capacity for a whole chicken but are on a tighter budget, a small air fryer, such as the Instant Pot Vortex Compact 5L Air Fryer may be a better buy.
If the size of the Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer MAF671B1GB suits, though, its performance won’t disappoint. For treats straight from the freezer, homemade chips and more, it’s a brilliant bit of kit to have on your kitchen counter.
