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Best Long Slot Toaster UK

Who doesn’t love a cuppa of a hot beverage and some hot, buttery toast smothered with their favourite spread? Anyone who answered “Me” is simply lying and weird. Only joking. We realise at Internet Eyes that not everyone actually loves toast and tea/coffee for breakfast. However, this guide isn’t really for you guys and girls, this is for the toast faithful out there.

The electric toaster was a stroke of pure white-hot genius when it was first introduced. And for some time, it remained that way. Particularly when plastic packaged and conveniently sized loafs of bread started to emerge. It was a match made in heaven. The slots in those toasters were designed to accommodate the sizes of bread slices available at the time.

The problem with these ingenious appliances was and is, though, the fact that they only accommodate standard bread slice sizes. Which is a problem if you enjoy a nice chunky slice of artisan crusty bread and want it toasted. Unless you hack away at it, which is hard enough as it is, or try to squeeze it into the tight slot, you have to stick to a more traditional grill and those longer times.

Enter the marvellous invention that is the long slot toaster. These are designed to toast thicker slices and those that are taller than standard loaves. There has been a real explosion with long slot toasters over the last decade or so. Which means there is a lot of different products to choose from. As good as that sounds, it can also be a headache. Trying to decide from hundreds.

With our guide to the best long slot toasters available, you can avoid the headaches.

Best Long Slot Toaster UK 2019

1. Breville 4-Slice Toaster, 2 Long Shots, High Lift and Variable Width, Black

First up in our guide is what is one of the best 4 slice long slot toasters in the UK. Made by iconic kitchen appliances manufacturer Breville, this slick toaster is one sexy, cool customer. It has a slimline design that will complement just about any kitchen, with its nice black colouring that contrasts against the illuminated red controls.

Enough about its good looks though, let’s get down to the most important features. Breville have built this toaster with 2 long slots which provide enough space for you to toast much longer, taller breads like sourdough and other artisan breads. For those days when you just fancy a couple of slices of regular bread toasted, it will accommodate 4 slices.

What else do we love about it? The variable browning controls make it very easy to have your toast made to your preferred colour and consistency. It also provides the lift-and-hook functionality which means you can check your slices of toast at any time during the process. In addition, you can also cancel, reheat and defrost with this toaster and remove the crumb tray to empty and clean it.

Pros
  • 2 long slots offering space for all kinds of toasting
  • Variable setting browning control
  • Lift and look function for checking your toast as it cooks
  • Usual functions like cancelling, reheating and defrosting
Cons
  • Wide enough, but could be a lot taller
  • It doesn’t toast very evenly

 

2. Dualit 2 Slot Long Lite Toaster – Black

Next in our guide we have the rather amazing technologically advanced long slot toaster from Dualit. Dualit are a company who have an impeccable and impressive reputation, where quality has always had an important part to play.

This benefits from exclusive toasting technology that makes calculations on your behalf of the variables involved in making your toast golden brown every time. Its slots are both extra-long and extra thick at 26 cm and 3.6 cm respectively. With the excellent peek and pop function you can keep a close eye on the toast. While its specialist bagel/rolls and defrost settings baked goods can be added to it directly from the freezer.

As is standard it comes with a removable crumb tray, and also features a warming rack to keep your toast or other baked goods warm.

Pros
  • Toast tech helps determine the perfect temperature
  • Peek and pop function to closely monitor your toast
  • Extra-long and wide slots
Cons
  • Some customers have experienced quality issues

 

3. Swan 4 Slice Toaster, Cream

Our third long slot toaster is also made by a reputable brand – Swan. Like he others, rather than offering predetermined slots, there are wo slots of virtually any normal size of read slice, even the stuff you have to cut yourself. You get the benefit of a variable browning control, so you are always able to select just the right level of warm and toasty, whether you like it well done and almost charcoal-y, golden brown or lightly toasted.

We really like, at this point we feel it’s worth saying, the retro feel of the design and those more old-fashioned looking controls. As standard, you also get a crumb tray that can be easily removed to help keep it clean and tidy and stop getting bits of bread stuck.

Pros
  • Extremely attractive retro colouring and design
  • Variable browning controls
  • Removable crumb ray
  • Defrost and traditional toaster controls
Cons
  • Great for longer than average bread but not so good with thicker than average bread

 

4. Russell Hobbs Luna Long Slot Toaster

We all know the name Russell Hobbs, don’t we? That alone should make you feel more relaxed when reading about the Luna long slot toaster from the country. This is a stainless-steel masterpiece with gorgeous copper accents at either side. It boasts fast toasting tech, which the company has suggested can offer 55% quicker toasting compared to other, more standard and traditional toasters from Russell Hobbs.

As is the case with most you will find here, it features the very useful lift and look mechanism that means you can always keep an eye on your toast and stop it from getting too black and burnt. There are also options like defrost, reheat and cancel.

Pros
  • Ultra-fast toasting tech
  • Robust and durable stainless-steel build
  • Steel complemented by the copper
  • Lift and look and other functional and practical features
Cons
  • Some have accused it of not really toasting bread in most situations, but instead colouring it.
  • Short mains cable

 

5. Sage The Bit More 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster – Silver

With the Sage The Bit More 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster, in a nice and dashing silver, you get extra space to accommodate the kind of bread you want to toast, not just traditional Hovis bread slices and others like them.

All the important key features are included from the lift and look, that means your toast is never left to chance because you can monitor its progress, to the defrosting and variable browning control. The fact it has a removable crumb tray just makes it all the more a stunning thing.

If you fancy crumpets instead of bread, or similar baked goods like crumpets, this model even has a selectable crumpet toasting option too.

Pros
  • Stylish and modern toaster
  • Extra long slots for 4 slices of traditional bread and more room for awkwardly sized bread slices
  • Variable browning controls to discover the best setting for toast the way you like it
  • Easy to clean
  • Special defrost and crumpet toasting options
Cons
  • Many argue that it is not actually quicker than a normal toaster
  • Can be fiddly setting it to the right browning level

 

6. Igenix 4 Slice Toaster in White, 2 Long Slots

From Igenix next we have this 4-slice toaster in a smart white finish. First, we want to discuss its variable browning controls, there are 6 adjustable selections you can make to make your toast as perfect for your preferences as possible. He width of the slots and self-centring technology involved means you can always accommodate even the most awkward sized and styled breads.

As you’d expect, there is an easy to access and removeable crumb tray which will help reduce the mess and stop it from getting blocked. No modern toaster is really complete without reheating and defrosting options and an instant cancel button to stop any unfortunate and unnecessary burns from occurring.

Pros
  • Self-centring deep slots with variable widths
  • Easy to choose browning settings
  • Reheat, defrost and cancel buttons
  • Removable crumb tray
Cons
  • Not particularly uniform at toasting bread
  • Mains adaptor lead is not nearly as long as it could be

 

7. Tower 2-Slice Long Slot Glass Toaster, 1100 W, Black

The next product we want to highlight is the rather curious and attractive looking Tower long slot, 2-slice toaster. The first thing we want to draw your attention to is the 4cm extra wide slots, which will accommodate crumpets, bagels and thicker bread slices. We particularly love the precision and accuracy this toaster offers you and how Tower went a step further than many of its competitors.

Rather than just offering the variable browning controls, you also get the benefit of the extra-high and there is also a viewing window in the side. Burnt toast, unless that’s the way you love it, is justified anymore. This gives it an edge over so many similar products, where the littlest detail can make the biggest difference to the sales.

Pros
  • 4cm extra-wide slots
  • Variable browning settings
  • Reheat, cancel and defrost as standard
  • High lift function to protect your fingers and help you assess your toast
Cons
  • Viewing window could become stained or otherwise marked and could be difficult to clean, rendering it useless

 

8. Holife 4 Slice Stainless Steel Extra Wide Long Slot Toaster with 6 Browning Setting

Another great and affordable option when it comes to long slot toasters is this model from Holife. It seemingly has a much taller design, which makes it stand out somewhat from the crowd of very similar toasters. It has obviously been designed with the end user in mind, thanks to the6 pre-installed browning selections.

If you have baked goods or larger slices of bread, then you will appreciate the nifty little warming rack that you can set up over the slots and keep croissants, other cakes and buns and bread rolls to the correction temperature.

With a crumb tray and cord wrap tidy feature it’s a well-designed and compact piece of kit despite its side. We are very impressed that Holife are fully committed to manufacturing goods that meet the customer’s needs and requirements as well as this one does.

Pros
  • Extra wide slots for just about any type of bread
  • 6 variable browning options, and standards like defrosting, reheating and cancelling controls
  • Warming rack integrated into the toaster for keeping croissants, rolls and other breaded goods warm
  • Easy to keep clean and tidy, thanks to the removable crumb tray
  • Easy to use
Cons
  • Mat toast some artisan breads unevenly

 

9. Princess Double Long Slot Toaster, 1500 W, Silver-Coloured Stainless Steel

The last two long slot toasters in our guide are both from the manufacturer Princess. The first is this option with a high watt output and six distinct browning settings to choose from the achieve the perfect looking and tasting toast. These can be selected very easily at the touch of the dial, it also has a number of common controls such as automatic pop-up, automatic shut-off, defrost, cancel and reheat.

Pros
  • Powerful and very efficient 150 W long slot toaster
  • Suitable for all types and sizes of bread
  • 6 easy to select pre-programmed workouts.
  • Removable crumb helps to keep it neat and tidy
Cons
  • Heat generated from the toaster has been known to be conducted through the metal casing

 

10. Princess Long Slot Toaster, 1000 Watts, Silver-Coloured Stainless Steel

In many ways, this is a very similar appliance to the one we have already featured by Princess. While the controls may be placed on a slightly different part, it still provides you with the same functionality. You can still control the browning achievable with the toaster via the 6 pre-installed settings. You can still opt for automatic cancellation or choose to defrost frozen bread or reheat previously toasted bread or recently baked goods.

The one difference really is this model is not as powerful and only offers space for two slices, rather than the 4 slices you can toast with other models. Therefore, if the above seemed a little too powerful for your needs, then this would be a great option. It also benefits from a cool-to-touch exterior design and non-slip feet that means it will stay wherever you place it.

Pros
  • High performance long slot toasting option
  • 6 great browning selections to choose from
  • Can handle two slices of bread or other baked goods
Cons
  • Only space for two slices of bread
  • Not especially fast at toasting compared to others on the market

 

Best Long Slot Toaster – Buyers Guide

Now that we have given you the lowdown on the best long slot toasters available, we hope you are better able to find the best solution for you when faced with browning off your favourite artisan bread or baked good product. However, we understand that for some, 10 may still make it a hard choice to decide between. Therefore, we’ve put together a handy guide to some of the important features you should consider helping whittle down the 10 to that 1 long slot toaster that’s best.

Features That Are Important

Variable Browning Controls

It goes without saying if you are going to invest in a toaster that offers flexibility and versatility when it comes to the size, be it the thickness and/or length, of slices of bread you are looking to toast, you want one that allows you to adjust the browning settings. With all the models we have featured in our guide, you will notice there is some kind of variable browning settings dial.

This means if you are a fan of charcoal burnt toast or only like it slightly warmed, you can find the setting that will best produce those results. This is also important adjustable controls to have if you are looking to brown off or warm other baked goods that are not bread, including crumpets, scotch pancakes, croissants, rolls and anything else similar.

Length and Width of Toaster Slots

The idea behind investing specifically in a long slot toaster, after all, is to have enough room for non-standard and traditional sized slices, therefore the width and length of the slots is something you should give thought to. Even if you are not entirely sure what the average length or thickness is for specific baked goods and styles of bread, there may be handy guides provided by the manufacturer to help.

Defrost, Reheat and Cancel Functions

Three controls you will find on all toasters, across the board, including long slot options, are the cancel, reheat and defrost buttons. It is always worth ensuring that the toaster you choose has these features so that you can have even greater control over the toasting experience.

Cancel works especially well in conjunction with the next all-too-important feature.

Lift and Look Mechanism

In the past it used to be that toasters would only allow you the option to look at the toast if you pressed the cancel button or once they had completed the selected browning time based on the setting you choose. Nowadays, to help give you greater control over how brown or not your toast or other baked goods are, you will find that most reputable and high-quality long slot toasters feature a mechanism that allows you to check the toast without stopping the heat.

Normally referred to as the lift and look or something similar, you can simply push the lever or button and have a peek at the toast to determine whether it is done yet or needs more warming/browning.

Removeable Crumb Tray

Another essential component to any good quality toaster, whether it’s a standard sized model or a long slot model, is a removable crumb tray. This helps you to ensure it is kept clean and tidy. One of the worst things in the world is having a toaster that collects crumbs and chunks of bread hat have fell off during the toasting process that eventually burn and produce unpleasant odours.

Always look for a toaster with some form of removeable crumb tray if you want to avoid the above. Fortunately, the options we picked out in our guide here at Internet Eyes all feature some kind of crumb tray that can be emptied easily.

Cord Length

You will notice with most of the toasters we featured above, you can find out the length of mains cable they are supplied with. This is important to think about because you need to be sure you will be able to setup your toaster in your kitchen where it can reach a mains socket safely, without needing an extension cable. Although generally speaking, the longer the cable the better, the last thing you want is one that is too long if it is going to get in the way and you have relatively small worktops.

Conclusion

There we have it, folks, a comprehensive and detailed look at long slot toasters in their various shapes and forms. If you are looking for a toaster designed to handle bread and other baked goods that are not ideally shaped for more traditional toasters, then we are sure you will find the perfect one from our selection. There is no need to try and wrestle with artisan bread slices, trying to make them fit into the tight slots normal toasters are built with, that’s for sure.

 

 

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