When you're done, the exterior is easy to wipe down and the 40-inch cord has concealed storage, so you can keep this statement piece on your counter. One caveat from the tests: We enjoyed the toast popping all the way out of the toaster, though these pieces could easily end up on the floor. Anti-slip feet keep this steady on the counter, and the removable crumb tray makes it easy to clean. These adjustable settings indicate the shade level, or how toasted your bread will be. These are either shown in numbers going up to 6 or 7, indicating the brownness of the toast (from light brown to dark brown) or in minutes counting down before the toast pops up. KRUPS KH734D Breakfast Set 4-Slot Toaster: With six browning settings, a sleek design, and built-in cord storage, this Krups four-slice toaster was a favorite for a long time. That said, we found it left a lot to be desired: The shading was inconsistent and very uneven across the functions. Toasting bread skewed toward very dark browning while toasting bagels skewed very light. On top of that, it was a "fingerprint nightmare." Sleek design and high-quality appliances are what Zwilling is known for, and we were not disappointed in its four-slice toaster. It comes with seven browning settings, plus defrost, reheat, and bagel functions, all easily viewable with LED-lit controls. When your bread is done, you have both a soft-lift and high-lift option.

The CPT-T40 4-Slice Touchscreen Toaster outperformed the competition in our tests, particularly when you factor in its price. Touchscreen controls on the front and six shade settings give precise control, and features include bagel, defrost, single-slice toasting, a +30 second option when the toast needs just a little more time, and a cancel button that stops the toasting right away. Before cleaning your toaster, unplug it and make sure it's completely cooled down. Then, remove the crumb tray and shake loose crumbs from the tray into a trashcan or the sink. The tray can be washed by hand if needed, and should be completely dry before returning it to the toaster. Even if you're not toasting fluffy New York-style bagels, forcing half a bagel into a too-narrow toaster slot can result in a lot of crumbs. If this is a regular occurrence in your kitchen, you need to buy a wide-slot toaster that is ideal for bagels. We found just the one with this KitchenAid 4-Slice Toaster. Different types of bread brown at different speeds. Depending on what type of bread you're toasting, you'll need to adjust the browning setting to get your favorite amount of doneness. Lighter bread, like white or potato, tends to brown faster and might require a lower browning setting than a sprouted bread that has a lot of seeds and whole grains in it. The best way to find your perfect slice is to experiment with your favorite bread and then remember that setting.It's also a good idea to turn the actual toaster upside down and give it a shake over the trash can or sink to dislodge any additional crumbs. If any crumbs remain, you can use a small brush to clean them from the toaster slots. Smeg, an Italian company, has been making inroads in the American market and gaining a following thanks to the retro look of its appliances and unique color options that will make a statement in any kitchen. The exterior of this toaster is powder-coated steel with polished chrome accents, but its accolades go beyond just its good looks. We gave this toaster high marks for its consistent performance, whether we toasted four slices of regular toast, two extra long slices, or two split bagels. The brownness corresponded to the toaster's setting time and time again. We did note that when you’re using the bagel setting, it toasts slightly lighter, but does get a great golden brown color on the cut-side if you crank it up to high. This also has reheat and defrost settings. This model is available in three colors, offers five shade settings and a manual high-lift lever, and features 1.5-inch wide slots. In our tests, it repeatedly toasted up picture-perfect bagels on all the settings. Just pop the bagel in, press the bagel function, and when it dings, you'll have a bagel with a still-soft crust and even, golden brown crispiness on the inside. The results were impressive: toast was evenly done, and it’s faster and more power-efficient than anything we’ve seen at this price. The slots are really wide, too, so getting bigger items to fit isn’t a problem. Speaking of which, there’s a bagel mode so you can get them crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside – as nature intended.

The numbers on a toaster are meant to be a guide to level of toast doneness, but they vary from toaster to toaster. Turning the dial to "2" on different toasters will likely result in very different levels of brownness.

We’ve tested all the top models to find the best toasters that deliver the finest, most perfectly cooked toast

A bagel setting is handy for anything, like bagels or English muffins, that you want to toast on just one side. A defrost setting is useful for frozen bread. First, it defrosts bread then switches to the toasting cycle. Each model is different: on some models, you need to press the defrost button before you push the bread carriage down, while others are pushed once you’ve activated the toaster. An added bonus with Zwilling's Enfinigy line is its accessories; there are pieces sold separately for toasting sandwiches or warming buns. Similar to bagels, if toasting frozen waffles into your toaster is a frequent event in your kitchen, life will be much more enjoyable if your toaster excels at it. Whether you top yours with homemade whipped cream or need a base for a waffle sundae, the Cuisinart 4-Slice Custom Select Toaster performed the best in our tests when it came to waffles.