KitchenAid PRO LINE 4-Slice Toaster

Comment: This toaster is beyond bad. Out of the box one side didnt to heat up at all. Not once. The slots were not big enough for bagels (unless you are an expert and can cut them exactly equidistantly) and it does not come with a rack. In addition, the settings it advertises are not settings at all. I had a Dualit in England for 10 years so if you want that kind of professional toaster get the real deal. Or do what i am about to do a get something cheap and simple.

Comment: I ordered this toaster to go with the Pro Line coffee maker and burr coffee grinder. After reading all the reviews here and on [...], I saw the criticisms, and held my breath. I expected a good looking ensemble of appliances, but was unsure about the quality of the toaster. As I have never had a toaster that toasted well, this wasn't a deal breaker. I have been pleasantly surprised. It is very attractive and a pleasure to use. And it gives the most evenly toasted bread I have ever had. It certainly isn't perfect. The lower portion of the toast is often slightly darker than the top. This can easily be remedied by lifting the bread during the toasting cycle and rotating the bread (the lift feature is a wonderful feature of this toaster). The toast is fine without rotation, but this extra step gives beautiful, evenly toasted bread. And, like other reviewers have noted, very moist breads, like some heavy and moist multi-grain breads, only begin to toast at the end of a cycle set at 9,the highest setting. This simply requires a second cycle with a little attention to be sure to get the desired level of browning. Because of the longer toasting time, the unevenness is more pronounced with this type of bread. Rotating the toast for the second cycle fixes this problem. I had the same experience with my last toaster, a very good Cuisinart. Some may find these to be serious problems. I find the need to pay a little attention to details to be a very minor problem. I give it five stars despite these issues because it so exceeds the performance of toasters I have used in the past, and because I have never before had a toaster that actually gave me pleasure to use.

Comment: Don't buy this toaster because it makes better toast. It doesn't. It does no worse or better than a decent $10 toaster. The earlier reviewer was right. There is no centering mechanism so regular thickness bread slices do lean in the slot and do toast unevenly and there is no bagel option... But so what?

Buy this toaster because it is big, beautiful and bullet-proof. Built like a tank, it is the epitome of simplicity and "non-cheapness". It looks cool on the counter. The controls operate with smoothness and precision, the way you'd expect on a $200 toaster.

Forget the toast, I smile every time I use it.

Comment: This is a fantastic toaster, while I would not normally review an appliance we have been so happy with this ,it warrants comment.I start my day every day with this and expect it to last a lifetime. It is heavy duty all steel and heavy bake-lite type knobs, and it perfectly toasts bread or bagels. As well it keeps the toast warm by not popping up, does not transmit heat to the outside of the unit. We love this toaster. The prior review surely must be a joke, stating the bread "leans over in the 1" slot", or that "it is imppossible to only toast 1 side of a piece of bread" ...huh? Ignore that this is better then the dualit and many other higher priced units.

Comment: I purchased my toaster and I really like the fact that it is so heavy duty, and doesn't over-heat when you need to toast multiple slices of toast. This is an extremly heavy toaster that does not seem flimsy. It is extremely stylish, and the smart design makes it easy to clean. I have found that this toaster prepares evenly toasted bread each and every time.