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Russell Hobbs 1200W Stainless Steel 2-Slice Modern Silver 6-Mode Long Slot Toaster 3.7 by user reviews The Russell Hobbs Stainless Steel Modern Silver 2-Slice Toaster is a must-have appliance for your kitchen to make exceptionally delicious meals and snacks. I bought this toaster to replace a previous one, a Russell Hobbs, same model but brushed steel finish. The first thing I noticed, is that this toaster is very heavy, when compared to other similar sized ones. It toasts evenly but it is very powerful and it is very easy to burn the toast.

Obsessing Over

Smart home appliances are all the rage—but is a smart toaster really all that different from a typical toaster? I tested one to find out.

Does a Smart Toaster Really Live Up to the Hype? Here Are My Honest Thoughts.

Before trying Revolution Cooking's High-Speed Smart Toaster, my previous toaster was...meh. My boyfriend and I had often bemoaned about how ugly it looked in our sleek stainless steel kitchen, with its fingerprint-covered black exterior and giant knobs and dials fit for a kindergartener. But since the toast it produced was 'fine' (nothing more and nothing less), we stuck with it. Until the Revolution Cooking Smart Toaster entered our lives.

At first I was excited by just the novelty of it: Like how jealous our friends would get upon learning about our high-tech toaster, and how pretty and futuristic it looked sitting on the counter. Even its minimalist, digital dial clock on its home screen (yes, it has a screen!) seemed like a huge improvement, making the appliance feel more like a work of art than a device for simply toasting bread.

Finally, I took the machine out for a figurative spin. And when I say my jaw dropped, I am not exaggerating one bit. As it turns out, the Revolution Cooking Smart Toaster is as fun to use as it is pretty to look at—you simply drop slices of your favorite carbs into the toaster slots and swipe through the touchscreen to choose your exact toasting preferences for bagels, bread, toaster pastries, waffles, and more. It allows you to choose your perfect level of 'toast,' from barely cooked to nearly burnt, with photos to demonstrate each option. Once you're satisfied with your choice, you press a button to slowly release the food into the toaster. From there, the screen lights up with a soothing timer, keeping you updated about where your food is at in the toasting process, from browning to crisping. When the toast is finished, the smart toaster sings a cheerful little song and slowly raises your food back up—so you can officially say goodbye to the old, scare-inducing pop-up of traditional toasters.

Not only is the machine's whole toasting process so incredibly cool and high-tech—it also makes some dang good toast. Thanks to the precise toasting choices, I wound up with my perfect slice of toast, evenly heated and not a burnt edge in sight. My boyfriend and I made about four slices of toast each the first day we tried the toaster, unable to acclimate to just how incredible the machine is, but also not wanting to stop consuming our newfound ideal toast. My boyfriend tested it out with English muffins the next day, too, and reported that they came out perfectly toasted and tasty. With the Revolution Cooking Smart Toaster, I finally have a reason to justify my morning carb load—the toasted results are just so good, I can't stop using it, and after weeks of testing I've still never had a less-than-perfect slice of toast. Plus, I'm not going to lie, the toaster really is the envy of all my friends, and the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' it produces (plus how good it looks on my kitchen counter), only sweetens the deal.

If you're looking to up your toasting game, a smart toaster, like this one from Revolution Cooking, may be just the thing you're missing. Sure, the price tag is a bit steeper than your average toaster, but trust me, it's well worth it.

Buy It: $300; williams-sonoma.com

Our personal favorite is the Cuisinart CPT-435 Countdown 4-Slice Stainless Steel Toaster. It has all of the functions you need without getting into super high prices. On the other hand, it might not be your ideal, so keep reading. Read on and we’ll show you the best then teach you how to make an informed decision to make sure that every slice of toast you make ends up being perfectly delicious without any hassle.

If you’re looking for a great toaster, then the CPT-435 should be the first one you take a look at. It goes above and beyond without getting ridiculous, and performs all of the basics at a high level.

Top Five 2 and 4 Slice Toasters

1. Best Overall

Cuisinart CPT-435 Countdown 4-Slice Stainless Steel Toaster

Cuisanart’s appliances are a welcome addition to most kitchens, and their CPT-435 is probably our favorite toaster for the majority of people. This is a 4-slice toaster which performs well and evenly, without breaking the bank.

It has all of the necessary core features for your toaster: several heat settings, smooth levers, and even heating which will let you ensure a great piece of toast every time you use it.

On top of that, you’ll get bagel mode, defrost mode, and reheat mode. These are three of the most vital modes for any toaster to have and you’ll quickly find that all three of them are pretty useful in day-to-day life.

• Stainless steel design for corrosion resistance
• Bagel mode, defrost mode, and reheating mode
• Four slices, with a two slice model available
• Dual control panels

• Not completely uniform in heating
• No crumb tray

2. Best Budget Toaster

BLACK+DECKER 2-Slice Extra Wide Slot Toaster

Not everyone needs an overkill toaster. If you’re looking to keep the price low but still end up with a great toaster, this BLACK+DECKER toaster is right up your alley.

It’s a two slice toaster coming in with a fantastic price. You can buy it in black or red in order to match your kitchen.

It has the basics down, plus a defrost mode, a bagel mode, and a forward facing crumb tray which can be easily removed.

Unfortunately, it’s a little bit shallow for larger slices of bread but other than that it’s pretty much perfect.

If you’re looking for a great toaster with a low price, then go with this one. It’s not perfect, but for the money you won’t be able to find anything close.

• Crumb tray
• Defrost mode
• Even heating
• Seven different toaster modes

• A little bit shallow
• No feedback on “special” modes to let you know they’re active

3. Best Two Slice Toaster

Russell Hobbs 2-Slice Glass Accent Long Toaster

If you’re only feeding one or two people, but still want to indulge in luxury, then this toaster from Russell Hobbs is perfect. It’s also a bit expensive, so keep that in mind before you take the leap.

This stainless steel 2-slice toaster has a very unique aesthetic, having one long slot for both slices of toast. The glass accents are a nice touch, but unfortunately they’re not see-through.

The unique design doesn’t only look great, it’s slim enough to fit on even the most restricted countertops. Of course, it has all of the bells and whistles you’d expect from this price. Defrost mode, bagel mode, and a fine control for the level of toastiness of your bread.

If you’re willing to splurge to make sure that you have the best two slice toaster around then take a closer look at this amazing toaster.

• Unique, slim design with glass accents
• Bagel mode and defrost mode
• Super even heating
• Lift & Look to inspect toast without stopping toaster

• Expensive
• Some people don’t like the single slot design

4. Best 4 Slice Toaster

Russell Hobbs 4-Slice Retro Style Toaster

If you’re willing to spend a little bit of extra cash on a four slice toaster then this retro-styled option with warming tray is right up your alley.

It’s on the expensive side, although not into luxury prices just yet, but the classic look and great, even heating makes up for it. Add in bagel mode and defrost mode and you’re well on your way to a perfect breakfast, every time.

We really love the Lift & Look option as well. The ability to inspect your toast without having to restart the cycle means that you can fine tune things to ensure your desired level of toastiness.

If you want an excellent four slice toaster, and you’re willing to pay for it, then this great and classic looking toaster deserves a close look before you decide on lesser options.

• Defrost and bagel modes
• Lift & Look function
• Great, even heating
• Removable warming rack for extra utility

• Expensive
• Rather bulky on the counter

5. Best Luxury Toaster

Dualit 2 Slice Classic Toaster

Russell Hobbs White Toaster

Don’t balk at the cost just yet, if you’re wanting to make sure that you end up with an amazing appliance instead of just a great one then Dualit has you covered. This retro-styled, luxury toaster has a cost that’ll leave most consumers staring in awe but it makes up for it.

The heating elements are the key here. Their unique design not only makes them more durable than any others on the market but also produce incredibly precise and even heating. Add in the sheer speed with which this toaster works will leave your jaw hanging open.

This might just be the last toaster you ever have to buy. It does lack in some of the fringe benefits found in other toasters but they just don’t make mechanical appliances like this anymore.

If you’re willing to outright invest in making sure you have perfect toast then the Dualit has you covered.

• Superior heating elements
• Removable crumb tray
• Retro design with tons of colors
• Will probably be the last toaster you’ll ever buy

• Extraordinarily expensive
• No advanced features despite the cost

Making Sure You Get the Best Toaster

If there’s any better way to get your carb fix right when you get out of bed than a piece of toast, we don’t know what it is. The problem is that many of the toasters on the market are pretty much rubbish and sifting through all of the cheap trash in order to find the right toaster can take a lot of time. We’ve done the research and crunched the numbers to bring you five of the best.

Picking out a toaster is a bit more complex than just going down to the thrift shop and hoping that the one you pick out works.

At least if you want an excellent toaster instead of just something that “works.”

There are a number of different factors to take into account and some are more obvious than others, but let’s get into it to make sure that your toaster of choice is excellent instead of just usable.

Russell Hobbs Glass Toaster

Number of Slices

You can save a lot of money by not just investing in the largest toaster you can afford.

The biggest decider here is how many people you’re going to need to feed.

If you’re only feeding a couple of folks, then a two slice toaster is probably the way to go.

Since the electronics are halved they tend to have a much lower cost than four slice toasters.

On the other hand, go with a four slice toaster if you’re planning on feeding a whole family.

You’ll double the amount of toast you can make in the same amount of time which will make things go much more smoothly.

Even Heating and Consistency

At their hearts, toasters are simple machines. Most of them are a rheostat hooked up to a couple of heating elements that’ll pop as soon as they reach temperature.

This actually means the engineering behind them can be pretty vital to ending up with perfect toast.

We’ve all had toast which is burnt in the center and still soft around the edges. This has to do with the way which the heating elements are run through the toaster.

With the right heating element placement, you’ll be able to make sure that your toast has an even cooking throughout.

Even heating becomes monumentally more important when you’re looking to make bagels, muffins, and other specialty toasted breads due to their shape. Most of us can stand for a slice of bread with a burnt center, but it’s terrible for this to happen with bagels and the like.

Trusted brands are usually the best place to go for this quality, but there are definitely some little known names with seriously good elements.

Consistency is also a major factor. Heating elements, when not made to a high-standard, can develop hot spots which don’t heat up the same way each time that you put a slice of toast into them.

This means you can end up with perfect toast one time, and then burnt spots the next time which will greatly reduce your enjoyment of the toast.

As a general rule, more expensive toasters will use better engineered components which leads to an overall more pleasant toasty experience. This isn’t always the case, but it’s definitely been our experience.

Crumb Trays

There’s one thing that no one loves about toasters.

Their tendency to leave crumbs behind. These crumbs can later burn, or just end up in the bottom of the toaster for a long time which leads to things getting messy when you move it around.

This makes a crumb tray pretty much essential if you don’t want to have to repeatedly empty the toaster of crumbs.

If you do opt to use a toaster without a crumb tray, then emptying it on a regular basis is a good idea to keep things tidy and safe.

On the other hand, most modern toasters have a crumb tray. Not all of them are created equally, however.

You’ll want depth, of course, to be able to collect a considerable amount of crumbs. You’re also going to want it on the front of the toaster to make it more easily accessible.

A crumb tray which is hard to access may as well not be there, most people are going to forget about its utility quickly.

Lifts

Most toasters still function with a basic spring-loaded lever.

You pull it down, the toast goes down with the holder to expose it to the now-rapidly heating environment, and it’ll pop back up when the rheostat goes off.

There are some luxury toasters out there which have a slow lift however. It really doesn’t effect much, but it might convince you that you’re living in the future.

While a lift doesn’t have much effect on the toast itself, it’s usually a good indicator that the toaster in question is a superior product in other areas however.

So look for toasters with lifts if you want to ensure that you get the best toaster possible.

Adjustable Slots

Adjustable slots will let you fit breads of wider sizes into your toaster. Whether it’s making it thin for Wonderbread or thicker to hold Texas toast, you may want to take advantage of this feature.

We strongly recommend them for most consumers, especially those who haven’t used them before.

You’re in for a treat if you’ve never used one with this feature before.

Additional Features

While we can’t really recommend super complex toasters, since the whole device should be quite simple for optimal performance, there are two modes you should be aware of.

Defrost mode will let you throw in frozen bread, defrost it and then toast it. Since a lot of us store bread for the long term in our freezers, this mode tends to see a lot of usage.

For other people it’s really not essential. The thing is, it often comes with another mode which most of us find to be super useful.

Reheating modes will lower the toast and quickly get it back to temperature.

If you often forget about your toast, and then remember it once it’s already hit room temperature, then you’ll fall in love with this feature.

For the absent-minded it’s a god send. How often have you had to throw out toast that’s sat too long?

Warming Trays

Warming trays will let you heat other food items on top of the toaster.

They’re definitely not essential and they don’t add to the toast experience but they’ll definitely let you get a little bit more utility out of your toaster.

If you’re already limited on counterspace, then this can be a lifesaving feature. If you’re not then you may already have something more specialized which will do the trick.

Either way, anything which adds utility to a single-use device like a toaster is quite welcome.

Cost

Toasters have been around for a long time, and they tend to be a “what you spend is what you get” type of item.

The question, then, is how awesome of a toaster you really need.

Since they’re so simple, there’s not a lot to screw up and even budget toasters will be fine if they’ve been made within the last couple of years. On the other hand, you may want to spend a bit more in order to ensure the perfect experience.

At the end of the day, your budget and the cost will have to line up but don’t cheap out and expect perfect results.

The Ideal Toaster for Most People

It can be quite a bit to take in, but we feel the following is what you need in any toaster.

• Even heating throughout the toasting process.
• Consistent heating with good heating elements.
• Two or four slices depending on the size of your household.
• A front-removing crumb tray with easy access and a bit of depth so you don’t have to empty it constantly.
• Defrost and reheating modes in order to make sure that you can toast frozen bread and to cover for any absent-mindedness you might experience before your first cup of coffee.

If you put all of those together, you end up with an awesome toaster.

If you’re willing to spend a bit more then look at our luxury option, which takes things to the next level entirely. And things definitely get pretty ridiculous on the super high-end of things.

Conclusion

We’ve done the work of finding the best 2 and 4 slice toasters for you. There should be something here for just about everyone, whatever their budget.

We hope that we’ve guided you in the right direction to make an informed purchase that will push the convenience and taste of your breakfast toast to the perfect level.

Whatever your reasons, snag the right toaster and you’re well on your way to the perfect breakfast.

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