The mode selection knob cleverly lets you choose how many of the 2 or 4 slots to use at any given time. This saves on electricity costs and is particularly handy on the larger model. If you choose a toaster with four slots, then a separate timer for each pair is useful if you and your family members have different browning preferences or like different bread types. Before buying a toaster, consider the type of items you usually toast, how many people use the toaster and how much space you have in your kitchen.

Despite its premium nature, the 2-slice Newgen is very compact. The 4-slice is naturally somewhat bigger, but it's not a hulking great thing like the KitchenAid Artisan toaster. If your bread finishes toasting and cools before you get to eat it, the reheat function will warm the toast without leaving it soggy or burning the bread. When first using the toaster from cold, we would suggest that you preheat the elements before toasting the bread. To do this, please turn the timer dial to its full extent and drop your bread in when the timer reaches the 2.5 minute mark. This will allow the end castings sufficient time to heat up.slice and 4 slice are the most widely found toaster sizes. If there are more than a couple of people using the toaster at the same time, then a 4 slice will be most useful or for large families a six slice. Dualit's Classic Toasters are available to buy in two, three, four and six slice versions. Safety Tip: When in use, there should be nothing above the toaster that could cause the heat produced to accumulate, so make sure you have space in your kitchen where the toaster can be used that isn't under cupboards or near curtains. The Cuisinart Style Collection 4 Slot Toaster is the perfect choice for bagel lovers. It's a more common feature in American toasters to have a bagel setting, which will toast the inside of the bagel while leaving the outside nice and chewy, but because Cuisinart is an American classic brand, we got to experience the joys of a bagel setting for ourselves. One thing to note is that you should place the bagel with the outside facing in if you want the inside to be toasted on the bagel setting. Hand-built in the UK since 1945, this is the toaster to buy if you don't want to fork out for another one for many years to come. It's a steep investment, yes, but the price reflects the fact that its makers believe it’s a toaster that will last a lifetime. The genius of the toasting lever does not end there. If you want to keep your toast warm, you can have the elements off, but the lever down. This means that the residual heat from the toasting is used to keep your toast toasty. Or, at least, above room temperature.

Our unique ‘ProHeat’ elements, used on all Vario, Combi and NewGen toasters, only glow red after prolonged and continuous use. If they start to glow red straight after being switched on, there could well be a fault with the elements. An option to choose how many slots heat-up will help to save energy when only toasting one slice. It will also make toasting a lot more even; if there are two slots heating but only one slice of bread toasting then one side will always brown faster. The Newgen also offers the option of toasting bagels on one side only, if that is your preference. I have no idea why you would want to do that but if you do, the option is there. The rotary timer also includes an option for defrosting frozen bread before toasting. Really, this is just 'toasting' the bread for a short period of time, to defrost it, after which you toast it again to actually toast it.Crumb trays should be easy to remove and clean to stop the build-up of bread crumbs, which can be a safety hazard. Mollyis the Ecommerce Editor for Ideal Homeand is always on the lookout for the next must-buy product for your home. Covering all things appliance related, she regularly heads to Future's Test Facility in Reading to thoroughly put products through their paces. For couples and families, a four-slot or four-slice model is a better option – ensuring preparing toast for your brood at breakfast-time or simply serving up eggs on toast for two is an altogether speedier affair. If you’re fixated on a particular look, don’t despair, many brands produce two- and four-slot toaster models that look the same. Why do I need a toaster?

While a new toaster isn't the most costly appliance you need to invest in for your home, the best on the market aren't exactly cheap. That's why we've put all of the toasters in this guide to the test - so that you know whether they are worth your cash before you part with it. The elements that are fitted inside a toasting slot is what heats and browns the bread. The element is wrapped with wire and this is the part that heats up. Although you can't test a toaster before buying, you can probably look inside the slots and see the elements - the more spaced out and less wire there is, the greater risk of uneven browning and hotspots. Fewer gaps between the wire will produce more even toasting.As well as a decent variable control to give you your chosen perfect shade of brown, you should also look for defrost and keep warm functions.