I have my eye on this one from Williams and Sonoma. But it clocks in at $250.00, way too much for my pocketbook! I'm using two hand-me down ones for when I need four slots, lol! If I do splurge on an appliance, I think it will be a toaster oven due to the shortage of counter space in my kitchen and the multiple uses I could get out of it. But a girl can dream!

Yes, I did. I wanted a long slot toaster with two slots and ended up with the Haier, purchased from Amazon. We like it very much, have had it for a little more than a year.

Cj

Here is a link that might be useful: Haier Long Slot Toaster

Was in the same dilemma. I'm not into bread but passionate about toast and/or toasted things.
I was ready to spend some bucks! to serve my passion but after reading reviews on Amazon I was totally befuddled.
So one day I just said screw it and bought a cheap(ish) Hamilton Beach (model 22602) at Meijers. I had to run it a few times to get the chemical smell to burn off but since then I like it fine. Seems to do all of the above listed. Have no idea how long it will last, I think I bought it btw 6 and 12 months ago.
Course I went back a few months later to buy another one for work and there weren't any. Which is another issue for everything - they change everything constantly!

Good luck.

pinkmountain - yikes! that is one expensive toaster! Good luck with that dream! :) CJ - I've seen several of these long slot toasters - what do you need them for? I can see wider for bagels, I was just wondering how those worked. Mary, exactly the same thing happened to me after looking at amazon - more confused than I was before. Thanks for your responses. Anyone else?

I have a long slot toaster now that is about to die. It is a Kitchenaid and I've had it for about 13 years. I like the style because any size bread slice will fit. When I make an artisian round loaf I can still toast a slice. The slot is also wide enought for bagels... and I think that not having knobs for adjustments would be a bonus....check it out.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Long Slot toaster

Nancy that is more than I want to spend, but if it would truly last 10+ years I'd get it!

Got a kick out of the link to the Haier toaster. That piece of toast on the right is representative of why I hate every toaster I've owned and/or used over the past decade. Is it too much to ask, for a toaster to produce toast that is evenly browned on both sides?

I agree with foodonastump! I researched and finally bought a mid priced Haier (not the long slot) and most of my homemade bread will not fit the slots....then about half the bread is toasted. It sure seems to me in this day of technology someone could come up with a moderatly priced toaster that would actually toast both sides of bread evenly.

If I want really good toasted bread, I lightly butter the slice and 'fry' it on the middle griddle of the gas range!

Good luck. If you do find that miracle machine be sure and let us know which one it is.

Toasters drive me crazy and I went through several. So, I bought a Black and Decker toaster oven for $55 that fits 6 slices (K-mart sale). Anything I want toasted is done perfectly and it also bakes and broils. Baking muffins and potatoes don't waste time and energy in my big oven, and reheating casseroles is done quickly.

Nancy

Several years a go I purchased a GE 4 slice toaster from Walmart to replace a fancy brand of some kind with broken knobs. The GE 4 slicer works well to accommodate large or thick slices and bagels. My only compliant was about trying to toast really small sized pieces. They would have to be fished out with tongs sometimes.

It has since gone to live at the college apartment with Daniel and 4 roommates. It gets a rugged workout daily so it must be durable.

Walmart still carries a GE 4-slice toaster. The housing is slightly different. The one I had is a bit retro looking. I suspect the guts are the same. And the price is certainly right.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE 4-slicer.

We've been on the hunt for a decent toaster for years. After watching an America's Test Kitchen we ordered this Kalorik. DH, who eats 99% of the toast in the house, says it's the better than the expensive ones we've tried and he's impressed because it's not plastic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kalorik toaster

I forget who makes mine but it has been very good. It's lasted eight years and still works fine except the dial for baking just disintegrated last week. My only big complaint, and the reason I would not buy it again, is that it does not "ding" when the toast is done.

I also prefer a TO where the rack slides out when you open the door, but not many do that anymore.

Does your toaster over "ding"?

I am watching this thread with interest. I would really like to get a new toaster, because both of mine are too short, I have to rotate the bread to get it to toast. Also neither toasts all that great, but I blame it partly on the rotation. The 10 buck one is too narrow for bagels, that's why I have two sitting on my counter. I'm also toying with repacing them with a small toaster oven. My folks went the toaster oven route about 25 years ago when our 50+ year old vintage toaster gave out, and have never gone back.

I like a long slice toaster for my home made breads and also for artisan breads. Longer/wider slices fit fine. I guess I am not terribly picky about whether toast is totally even, so to be honest, I have not even noticed whether my toast is the same color brown overall. Like being able to see how long it will be till it pops up, and I like being able to adjust the darkness with a knob.

My last toaster was a Rowenta, and it lasted close to 15 years before it started toasting 'less good'. Now it's in the camper and the Haier took it's place in the kitchen. :-) I expect it will die altogether one of these days.

Cj

Isn't it crazy that it's so difficult to find a good toaster?!

I've been happy with my uber expensive Breville. I like that it makes the toasting time shorter if it is already warm. The second person who comes along doesn't end up with burnt toast.

All I ask is that is goes "ding" when the toast is done. Is that a thing of the past?

. . . . or refrigerator, or stove, or toaster oven, or waffle maker, or crockpot, or food processor, or electric frying pan, or vacume cleaner, or . . . .

"---I have my eye on this one from Williams and Sonoma. ---"

The Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster seems like a good idea, but I think the design is questionable.

It tries hard to equalize the infrared ray from the heating elements to hit the surfaces of the toast evenly from very different distance using curved reflectors. If you look at the demonstrations, it does not seem to me that it can toast evenly. It will prbably get worst as the reflectivity of the curved reflector gets less reflective due to age.

dcarch

I remember a thread from long ago with "testimonials" declaring their toaster was the best evah! But for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of it. I remember it was shamlessly $$$$ but that someone said you might find them periodically at reduced cost. I refuse to buy another toaster that only toasts one side of the bread. I know this is an old thread but I spent considerable time searching for that GW thread that had the information about the magic toaster that actually toasted both sides of the bread like in the old days and this is as close as I could find. Anyone? A toaster that toasts both sides, is that too much to ask?

I have an old Black and Decker toaster oven that has worked so well that I cannot bring myself to replace it, even though I think I would like to get a Breville TO. However, I do like that the B&D takes up less counter space, and I'm not concerned that it is too small for pizza, since I am pretty much okay with baking that in my regular oven (which has convection) or in the Big Green Egg, which has its own pizza stone and gets hotter than my indoor oven. We only got central A/C last year, and before that I had to open windows to get cool air, but now that I have A/C, I do not have to worry about baking in the kitchen. I also switched the halogen lights in the kitchen to LED, and that made a huge difference.

Anyway, if the B&D is still available, I think it is a good buy if the size and price fit you. I use it almost every day and often several times a day. Mine is not convection and therefore may be an older model, but it does have a rotisserie, which I never use.

Thank you, all of my older stuff is so much better than anything out there today. Better hang on to that B&D, sounds like it's serving you well and been a loyal friend. I once bought a Krupps coffee maker on ebay that they no longer make because it is so awesome. I scrubbed it three ways to Sunday before using it but it was worth it. The pot alone is a classic. Now I'm interested in a plain old two slice toaster and think I may have stumbled onto the manufacturer that was spoken of here. It's Duralite and made in England but now I think just "assembled" in England and we all know what that means.... I may have to go vintage to get a real "Made completely in England" Duralite and it would also be less sticker shock. Up to $300 for one of these beauties is more than I can justify for a toaster but it does sound beautiful. It actually toasts on both sides and you can interact with your appliance, yeah, just by turning a little rheostat to the toasty color you desire. You can raise and lower the bread to see how it's doing and it doesn't turn off the toaster and it dings when it's ready. It has been used in England forever commercially and can make 65 slices of toast an hour, it has 1250 watts of heating power. Yikes, I think I am talking myself into this thing, but it will have to be a used one I think. Thanks again!

I had the same Sunbeam toaster Chas has. Lasted 50 years and finally donated it, still working. They sure don't make anything like that any more.

My old favorite was an old Proctor Silex. I got it for a wedding present the first time I got married, in 1974. When I needed a wider one to toast Ashley's bagels, I took it to the office. That was about 1994 or so. It was used there for several years and was still working when I retired several years ago. My old secretary tells me it's still there and still working, so that's 40+ years, getting used the last 20 by at least 6 people on a daily basis. It always worked, always toasted both sides of the bread. However, the slots were narrow and you couldn't get a bagel in it. I wish I still had it, Ashley's grown and gone and makes her own bagels and my toaster is awful. It'll toast one side and only on the top. (sigh)

Annie

Toasting only one side of the bread seems to be a common problem with modern toasters. They can send a man to the moon but....