But the warping didn’t make the tray overly difficult to pull out or to clean. We noticed that crumbs tended to accumulate on the inner ledge at the base of the oven’s door. However, we found it easy to brush them onto the crumb tray using a cuisinart air fryer oven pastry brush or a paper towel. The toast shade control on the Panasonic FlashXpress was very accurate, giving us even results on the medium setting. When we selected models to test, we didn’t consider convection to be a must-have feature.
But the Bagel Bites we toasted between the door and the front of the oven’s rack were noticeably paler than those toasted in the middle and back of the oven. The De’Longhi Livenza Digital Convection Oven did not toast evenly in our tests. It also had a difficult time maintaining its internal temperature (which fluctuated between 322 °F and 369 °F when set to 350 °F). It’s common for most toasters to release steam while toasting, so don’t be alarmed. This is a normal occurrence, especially if the bread is particularly moist.
Siobhan is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine, and kitchen products. She has a Master’s degree in Food Studies, passed the WSET Level 2, Wines, with Distinction, and has written two cookbooks. We tested multiple Cuisinart TOA models and found the TOA-65 to be a true kitchen workhouse. If your interest was piqued by dual controls and you want something you can show off during brunch gatherings, we really like the Krups Breakfast Set 4-Slice Toaster. Maybe your household has strong opinions on toast levels, or maybe you host a lot of brunches where you like to offer several kinds of toasted bread. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times.
Even though our last Cuisinart toaster lasted for years it never toasted bread evenly. And since Cuisinart obviously owns the decent-looking toaster market, we went ahead and bought the Cuisinart Custom Select 4-Slice Toaster on sale for an amazing $39. If anyone knows toasters, is this just the nature of toasters and the little heating elements inside them?
And, since they go on a countertop, you don’t have to bend over to use them. In addition to baking, toasting, and air frying, the Anova Precision Oven offers sous vide cooking, and you can control the appliance and monitor the internal temperature of your food using your phone. I have reviewed kitchen appliances for four years and have developed many objective cuisinart air fryer oven tests to determine which products best suit different needs and budgets. You can find more details on how I tested the toaster ovens in this guide here. The only extra features this bare-bones, slightly compact model has are seven browning settings, a high-lift lever for English muffins and the like, and a cancel button for when you don’t want to wait.
It toasted six slices of bread in three-and-a-half minutes, which was about average, but the results weren’t very even. The top of the toast was close to consistent, but it was noticeably less done near the front, and the bottom was much less toasted than the top. Some toaster slots are designed to reach higher temperatures on one side than the other. You can flip the toast halfway to get even browning or look for a toaster that is more consistent on all sides. If you just need a great 4-slice toaster, we stand by the Cuisinart 4-Slice Custom Select Toaster , which will serve you well.
We noted if there were initial use cleaning instructions, and followed them if provided. For those who think that a great kitchen appliance should also be beautiful, there’s Smeg. This Italian brand collaborates with architects and designers for a mid-century retro look without sacrificing utility. Their appliances as delightful to post to your Instagram feed as they are to use. We appreciated the compact size of the Breville Compact Smart Oven , but it didn’t do well in many of our tests. It also costs more than the Panasonic FlashXpress, which we like better overall.