How To Choose The Absolute Best Toaster For All Bread Varieties

A good toaster is a staple of every home kitchen. It's there for us on weekday mornings when we're rushing out the door, and it's still there for us come the weekend, when we have all the time in the world to make a giant, nine-part breakfast (looking at you, full English). If you're currently in the market for a new toaster and feel completely overwhelmed by all the different styles and settings modern toasters boast of, we're here to help. When choosing your next toaster, let the main focus be on the most important part of any toaster's functionality — the slots.

The slots of the toaster are the openings on the top where you put the bread in. They make the difference between a tolerable toaster you use from time-to-time and a perfect-fit toaster that carries your entire family through breakfast every single day. First, work out how many slots you need in a toaster. Think about how big your family is and how much toast you need to make at once for a seamless breakfast experience. Most toasters on the market have either two slots (ideal for a single person or a couple) or four slots (great for families), but you can also find nifty toasters with only one slot or big commercial toasters with as many as six slots.

Not all toasters have the same sized slots, and therefore not all toasters are a good match for all types of bread. If your heart is set on regular, thinly sliced toast bread, you don't need wide toaster slots. But if you're planning to toast various kinds of bagels or frozen waffles, the slots on your toaster need to be wide enough to accommodate that. You don't want your delicious breakfast squished and stuck in slots that are too thin. For longer slices of bread, such as fresh-baked sourdough, ciabatta, or baguette, look for toasters with elongated slots that won't require you to unnecessarily trim the high-end bread.

It's only when you've gotten clarity on the number of slots you need and how wide or long they should be that you can start thinking about the functional settings on your new toaster. Some toasters have the "bagel setting," which only toasts the bread on one side and keeps it soft (but warm) on the other. Other useful settings you might consider are defrosting, if you like to store your bread in the freezer, and reheating, which really comes in handy for cheese sandwiches and leftover pizza slices (as long as you have a toaster bag). Now you're all set to find the best toaster for your bread of choice and enter into your ultimate morning toast era.