De'Longhi Distinta Flair 4 slot toaster, reheat, defrost, one-side bagel & 6 browning settings, matte metallic design, CTI4003.S, Silver

Product Information

There’s no automatic pop-up, although it does have lovely wide slots, you just lower your toast in manually using the lever at the front then turn the browning control to the desired setting and it starts to count down.

The dial is also pretty easy to read, so you may have to play with it to get the right level. The sliding crumb tray on the side also makes it pretty easy to clean. It is an excellent first stop when it comes to looking for a cost-effective toaster with premium features. We also think the De'Longhi Ballerina Toaster is reasonably priced for how luxe it feels to use. While it does cost more than the Morphy Richards Verve, which is our second choice, its design is noticeably more sturdy and the toast comes out with far fewer lines on the bread. If you are willing to tolerate some finagling with this, it is an easy-to-use and effective toaster at your basics. It has a high-lift level so you can see your bread as it progresses. You can even stop the process with a button right upfront.While it’s the unique patented ProHeat elements are virtually indestructible, if anything should go wrong, parts are super easy to replace or repair. That makes this a sustainable, quality and durable buy - the full works. It has two toasting levers with multiple browning controls. It allows you greater control over what parts of your bread are toasted. If you are looking for a premium option in the toasting world, look no further than the KitchenAid Artisan. If you know your household will not eat four pieces of toast, bagels, or crumpets, adding another toaster to your toaster is pretty needless. Make that decision based on how much you are willing to spend. The KitchenAid toaster is the only four-slot model. Toast Defrost Setting Although it’s not huge, it does everything you need it to, and it does it all well. There are six browning functions; we opted for mid-way but noticed that once the toaster was warmed up, we could dial it down a bit. A reheat button will automatically turn the browning down or reduce the time when you re-insert your toast. This setting is for keeping your bread warm as opposed to re-toasting it. You can turn down the browning for the same effect, but all models do come with this in some capacity. Audible Toast Alert

Each toaster has a tolerance level for the smaller items it can take. Some of them have specific settings for bagels or crumpets. We will list them out below. If there’s just one or two of you and you’re not a fan of fancy loaves then we’d say a simple two-slot model with just a couple of functions will probably suffice. Two slot models are also better if you’re a bit tight on space as it’s a product that usually has a permanent, easy-to-access home on your worktop.A toast defrost setting allows you to place frozen pieces of toast directly in your toaster. It adds an extra period of heat to account for melting the ice from the toast. All of the models we reviewed today include this feature. Reheating Toast It weakens a little bit with a single slice, which is typical given that there is typically too much heat to one slice. If you want to use the more complicated bread with several seeds (such as Burgen Bread), you may also run into some complications. The KitchenAid Artisan is our first step into the world of premium toasters. Regardless of it being premium, it does still have a couple of problems with the more complicated types of bread. However, this bread toaster is on the other end of the spectrum. It can handle crumpets. 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. Breville The Bit More Plus 4 Slice Toaster BTA440BSS: No bagel setting, but included crumpet setting