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. This will be influenced by the quality of the elements, the build quality and material. These factors will in turn affect the price. Take a look at the fittings, switches, dials etc. Does the manufacturer operate a repairs service? Are replacement parts available? There are things you can do to help maximise the life of your toaster; clean the slots regularly with a soft brush to remove bread particles and any oils from the bread, empty the crumb tray regularly and keep the toaster in a dry place where heat and condensation cannot cause damage. Because the Newgen toasts very consistently, and you can pop the bread up at any point to see just how it's doing, it's also hard – though admittedly not impossible –to ruin your toast. 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. 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.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 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.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. The two wide toasting slots were more than big enough to cope with doorstop slices carved from a whole farmhouse loaf, as well as standard supermarket medium pre-cut bread. For a gorgeous-looking toaster if your budget is a bit bigger, look no further.

Toasters can come in a huge range of styles, from cutting-edge modern designs to those with retro appeal. If co-ordinating appliances are important to you, look for toasters that come in a variety of colours and that offer matching kettles.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. 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. Unplug and do not use the toaster. Replace the timer immediately. Spare timers are available from www.dualit.com and must be fitted by a qualified electrical engineer. You heard that right - the technology within this toaster is automatically monitoring the toasting time of your slice, so that it never overdoes it. And once you've got to optimal toastiness, you can save your settings for the next round. 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.

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. It browned faster and more evenly than most other models on test, producing perfectly browned bread in a little over a minute and a half. Most others took more than two minutes and while 30 seconds might not seem much, if you’re rushing to get the kids to school, that could make all the difference.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. A stainless steel cleaner can be used on the central cover only. It should not be used on the ends as this would cause discolouration. Instead we recommend that you clean the end castings with a damp cloth and then use a soft dry cloth to polish them afterwards. 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.

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. Crumb trays should be easy to remove and clean to stop the build-up of bread crumbs, which can be a safety hazard.If you need a toaster for commercial use, such as in a hotel, B&B, café or canteen, then your considerations will more likely differ slightly. The toaster's output, for example, could be the deciding factor. 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? 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.