BrevilleDie-Cast Smart Toaster, 2-Slice, Brushed Stainless Steel

We have a couple of other Breville products that we have been very happy with. So when it was time to replace our toaster, I decided that Breville was the way to go. At this point, I was so looking forward to getting it, and now, I am very disappointed with this toaster. As soon as we got it, I had to make some toast to see how it worked. as soon as the bread went down, I saw that the elements on the inside panels of both sets of slots did not light up or heat and only some of the elements on the other side of all slots heated. I used homemade whole grain bread that usually takes longer to toast. So I put it on the highest setting. At the end of the cycle, one side of the bread was partially toasted. So I turned the bread around to toast the other side - again only partially toasted using the #5 setting. Really, my old cheap toaster did better!!Since I have never been disappointed with a Breville product before, I decided to return this toaster as defective. Since the seller was not Amazon, the seller expects me to pay return shipping for a defective product. This is totally unacceptable, and I have reported this situation to Amazon. I have decided that I will give Breville another chance on this toaster, and will update this review if my experience with this product improves.The seller did finally email me a return shipping label with the help of Amazon customer service.UPDATE 11/10/16I have increased my star rating from 1 star to 5 as we now really like this toaster. Just in case we still didn't like it, I ordered it from Bed Bath and Beyond so that the return would be easier. They don't have the 30 day limitation on returns and we have a local store. When we first got this toaster, I did toasting with no bread a couple of times to burn off anything that might be on the elements. This was recommended in the instructions. During this process, I noticed that all of the elements did not heat as much as the other side on one side of each slot. Many more heated than with the previous returned toaster, but still not all of them. Having had problems with the first toaster, I called Breville customer service the next day. They told me that the toaster was designed to make "restaurant style" toast. One side of each slice is not toasted as much as the other side so that toppings can be put onto the softer side, and the other side is crisper. The explanation sounded good, but I wasn't sure that I would like "restaurant style" toast. Our first test of the toaster was bagels. I set the toaster at level 5, pressed bagel and the toast. Our old toaster had to be set at the highest level to get anything browned. Before the toasting cycle finished, I checked the bagel and it was almost burned. The next bagel I set the toaster to level 3, and the toasting was perfect. The inside of the bagel was golden brown, and the outside was still soft. Perfect!!The ultimate test was toasting homemade bread, All of our bread is homemade and is primarily made from fresh milled whole grain flour. This type of bread is heavier than store bought bread, and takes much longer to toast. I also freeze loaves after slicing, and we take slices out as needed. For 100% frozen whole wheat bread, I set the toaster at level 5, pressed the frozen button, and then toast, and the bread went down to toast automatically.The bread was beautifully, evenly toasted.A couple of things that should be noted. Although the outside of the toaster gets only warm, it does give off a lot of heat from the top. I initially had it in a space on the counter that was under a cabinet. The underside of the cabinet got really hot - too hot to touch. I also mentioned this to Breville customer service, and was told that it should not be placed under a cabinet. I love and would recommend this toaster, but this may be a point to consider if you are considering purchasing it.UPDATE 12/21/21:We have had this toaster for over 5 years, and it still works as well as the day we got it. I love it not only for toasting bagels, but also use the bagel setting to toast hamburger buns. When the hamburger buns are toasted on one side as bagels are, they hold up much better to the hamburger and other ingredients without falling apart. When I make Belgian waffles, I always make extras for my husband to toast in this toaster. After over 5 years, this toaster still works and we still love it. If it ever poops out, I would certainly buy another of these.I hope this review was helpful for you.

The first toaster I received was completely dead, right out of the box. The second one I received is perfect. Finally, I don't have to push the toast down twice, lol! I adjust the setting depending on the thickness of the bread and it comes out perfect every time. I didn't think I'd use the peek feature but I do. It's heavy, and sturdy and I hope it lasts for years. So far, it's worth the price.

I have used this toaster before, and it's pretty great! The buttons are simple, the mechanism is a smooth raising/lowering of the bread from the toaster so you don't have that "pop goes the weasel" effect. The "just a bit more" button is cheeky but functional, and the progress lights on the "how toasted" slide bar give you an idea on how close to done your toast is at a glance, even from a distance.It looks good, toasts well, accommodates wider bread slices, and generally raises the bar with the features that it provides. Will a $10 toaster toast? Sure. Is $200 for a toaster a good price? That's up for you to decide. It is a luxury purchase for sure. We all have our reasons for what we do and what we buy, but, short of any buyers remorse for spending $200+ on a toaster, this thing shouldn't disappoint.

Excellent love how efficient and beautiful this is in our kitchen. I would highly recommend. Toasting accuracy is excellent and uniform.

BULLETIN - UPDATE WED MAY 18 - Toaster deader than a hammer. I'd been thinking in recent weeks - after getting my original purchase replaced on warranty - that my Breville was a fine toaster, even with some uneven toasting on dark setting. All the other functions - defrosting frozen bread and toasting it in one cycle - have been a lot of fun. Tonight I put a regular piece of unfrozen bread in, set on med-high and the piece of toast began going up and down and up and down. All the lights across the top began flashing. I unplugged the toaster and tried again, several times. Same result. I paid $159 I recall, for a toaster that lasted less than three months. In total, TWO models of this toaster lasted less than three months.OLD REVIEW: I'm hoping like crazy that I will consider this toaster a 5-star purchase a month, a year and 10 years from now. Like everyone else I am banking on the relatively low percentage of 1-star and 2-star reviews and very high percentage of 5-star and 4-star reviews. So far my observations are this: It's slow, but I think that's part of a high-quality process. I make toast on the darkest setting, using Trader Joe's multi-grain bread, right out of freezer, and without using the extra toasting button I get uniformly dark, perfect, one-slice servings on both sides. I'm scrambling eggs and making coffee so it's not like I've found myself waiting, drumming my fingers on the counter, for the toast to pop up. I love the buttons - on top of unit and easy to read and making a beautiful display. To one other reviewer's point on a Cuisanart toaster that smudges so easily, I found the same to be true, and of course, it didn't toast evenly, so that went back after 24 hours. On the Breville, the non-smudge finish is just spectacular, like the finish on a Rolls Royce. There's the line we Amazon buyers have found to be so true: you have to see this in person to believe how handsome an item it is. It's like the fit and finish on a $60,000 car, just gorgeous, reeking of quality. *Back to function: the opposite of the dark setting on my toaster is the lowest setting, for just lightly searing hamburger buns. I like Pepperidge Farm "slider" buns, which I freeze and then remove from the freezer as needed, long enough at room temperature to be able to separate the halves and still keep as once piece. That one bun piece, opened, fits into the slot and on the settings of 1 FROZEN and 2 lightest toast setting, the results are perfect, just enough toasting to seal the bread from the burger's juice. I also like the "Lift & Look" and "A Bit More" buttons, but have not explored them much. Bottom line: If this toaster holds up it will be one of the most fun purchases I've made for my 2nd favorite room in the house, my kitchen. Update photo: I added fourth photo to show the beautiful, functional louvers on the one side of the unit. The toaster does generate a lot of heat - not so much greater heat than other toasters but heat that's on for a longer period of time. I may put tinfoil on the underside of the cupboard above the toaster.

Best toaster I have ever used in years. Well built, and toasts perfectly. Expensive, yes, but worth the money.