My only disappointment with this toaster is how it toasts regular white bread/English Muffins. Since the bread is thin, it is held too far away from the heating elements, and it usually takes two attempts to get the bread actually toasted to anything more than just a light brown. If you want your toast darker, you'll have to adjust your setting, and then toast again.

If you are looking for a superb toaster for your bagels, this is the one for you. But if you don't eat toasted bagels that often, you would be better off with a more traditional toaster, without the extra wide slats.

79 of 80 found the following review helpful:

Works great! No problem getting dark toast  May 14, 2006
By L. Williams
I really hesitated to order this toaster because of complaints about it not toasting items completely enough (because, depending on what I am toasting and why, I sometimes like my toast dark). I bought it anyway because of the bagel function, and figured I would just "double toast" if necessary. I have absolutely no complaints about this toaster! If I turn the darkness knob all the way to the darkest setting, I get toast that is quite dark -- what I would call burnt, actually; more importantly, I no longer have to choose between bagels that are not toasted enough (but still soft inside) or toasted as I like them on the outside and dried out inside. The bagel function on this toaster works great -- fully toasted on the cut side and completely warmed throughout without being dried out! This is how a bagel SHOULD be toasted. I don't know if the company has modified the unit, or if others just got "unlucky" or if I just got "lucky", but this toaster works fine for me at whatever setting I use with just a sngle toasting.

One note, though for those of you who expect the empire red toaster to EXACTLY match the empire red stand mixer: the color match is not exact (different exterior materials). It is somewhat noticable (to me, anyway -- my kitchen gets lots of natural light) if they are side by side on the counter, but if they are not side by side, you'll never notice it.

87 of 92 found the following review helpful:

Great for Bagels  Jan 26, 2003
By southernarc
I bought this toaster specifically for Bagels. For that, it is very good. The differential heating, where the cut side of the bagel will toast, and the uncut of the bagel will just warm, is a very good feature. The bagels come out well toasted, but not rock hard due to toasting on both sides.

I am however disappointed with the regular Toasting feature. It appears that, due to the very wide slots in order to accomodate thick bagels, that regular white bread and English Muffins are held too far away from the heating elements in order to sufficiently toast the first time. The toast setting must be reset, and then you'll need to toast a bit more in order to have your final toast "well done" which is how I prefer it.

If you are looking for the only toaster on the market which has a "Bagel" setting (i.e. differential heating) buy this model. It is superb for toasting your bagels. If you are just looking for an ordinary toaster, or don't do bagels that much, this toaster is not for you.

31 of 31 found the following review helpful:

Finally... A Toaster That Toasts Without Drying Out The Toast!  Sep 22, 2005
By MarfyBarfy "mahfromwi"
This toaster does not (and was never intended to) make toast that sounds like sandpaper scraping when buttered i.e. the toast we all grew up with.

This toaster seals or lightly braises the bread, much like a marshmallow toasted on the outside, but yummy on the inside. It is not the toast we are familiar with.

For our family, with senior parents visiting, it is marvelous. No more coughing and choking from toast crumbs.

There is nothing wrong with the traditional toast as we know it. This toaster is different altogether. It is unfair to compare the two methods of toasting.

I think the Kitchen Aid toaster is terrific. My family actually eats their toast instead of throwing it in the waste basket.

No more coughing from eating toast! Hip hip hooray!

34 of 35 found the following review helpful:

Acceptable for Bagels, A Disaster for Whole Wheat Toast  Sep 23, 2004
By delicateflower152
If you only eat bagels, then this might be the toaster for you. It is much better made than some of the other products on the market and is easy to use. The bagel function is okay, it does a nice job of toasting the cut side. However, it doesn't heat the whole bagel sufficiently through to keep it from getting "cold" quickly and becoming "rubbery." If you eat whole wheat toast or homemade breads, then this toaster is a disaster. I turned the thermostat up to maximum browning, but the bread was barely toasted. If you have the time and inclination to retoast everything, then it will probably be fine. The toaster does do a nice job of browning evenly with two cycles. For the money, this toaster just doesn't deliver.

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