High-Precision Toaster required : Does such exist ?

This topic has 37 replies, 20 voices, and was last updated 25 March 2026 at 16:48 by Michael Gilligan.

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22 March 2026 at 16:15 #841919
Michael Gilligan
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@michaelgilligan61133
I have at last found a commercial loaf which produces near-perfect Toast.

Unfortunately, the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is very narrow … probably 20 seconds between just-right and burnt !

My wish is for a compact single-slice pop-up toaster with exceptional stability

[ the existing two-slice job is wasteful, and disastrously inconsistent ]

If anyone knows of such a device … please tell.

MichaelG.
Advert

22 March 2026 at 17:27 #841926
renardiere7
Participant
@renardiere7
The Holy Grill
22 March 2026 at 17:49 #841932
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
There’s a way of knowing when

Never try to guess

Toast until it smokes, and then

Twenty seconds less!

– Piet Hein.

The Sunbeam T series Radiant Control Toasters are reputedly the best ever made but were discontinued in 1997. Available on eBay.
22 March 2026 at 17:50 #841933
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
On 22 March 2026 at 17:27 renardiere7 Said:

The Holy Grill

Excellent!
22 March 2026 at 18:09 #841935
Speedy Builder5
Participant
@speedybuilder5
toaster or loaf ????
22 March 2026 at 18:28 #841943
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
First you need a moisture meter as this will dictate how long it is to heaven ! Noel.
22 March 2026 at 18:31 #841944
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Thanks for the reference, John … it looks a work of simple genius:

.

.

Unfortunately, I need something that’s physically much smaller.

🙁

MichaelG.
22 March 2026 at 18:57 #841949
Bazyle
Participant
@bazyle
Amateurs! Make toast the proper way by sticking it on a toasting fork in front of the fire and keep checking. It will vary with age of bread, room temperature, phase of moon etc.
What kind of butter do you use?
22 March 2026 at 20:01 #841959
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Bazyle

I have a lovely toasting-fork, that my Dad made about 70 years ago, but no fire … and a very small house.

Brittany Salted Butter from M&S

… and the bread, if you want to know, is their simple ‘toasting loaf’ with Sunflower Seeds and Spelt … Good wholesome stuff.

MichaelG.
22 March 2026 at 20:10 #841960
duncan webster 1
Participant
@duncanwebster1
When I was a student the rooms in hall of residence had a wall mounted electric fire. With a bit of ingenuity and a wire coat hanger making toast no longer required a trip down to the kitchen
22 March 2026 at 20:56 #841967
Clive Foster
Participant
@clivefoster55965
I have one of the Sage “Smart Toast” 2 slice toasters.

It seems to be very repeatable in performance and the slider type control appears precise. Something of a poster child for excessive and inappropriate technology with its motorised insertion / extraction device, blinking LEDs progress indicator. and on the fly adjustment for a bit more toasting if the initial setting is too low. Presumably all to justify the price.

Her ladyship dumped it on me so its more than my life is worth to go back to my perfectly ordinary, cheap, toaster that has been perfectly satisfactory for the last decade.

I imagine the basic “A bit more” version is as effective at the toasting thing without the motor drive for around 2/3rd the price.

Clive
22 March 2026 at 20:58 #841968
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
Why no consumer product company can design a toaster that just works properly in this day and she I just don’t know. Next they will launch Internet enabled toasters that connect to AI but reduce all your bread to slop.
22 March 2026 at 21:19 #841969
Andy Stopford
Participant
@andystopford50521
Dualit:

2 Slice NewGen Classic Toaster

Two slice (or more) only, and, considering the price, you have to be very keen on toast. They do last for decades though.
23 March 2026 at 06:25 #841979
Speedy Builder5
Participant
@speedybuilder5
It won’t be long before you could buy ready toasted bread or pre-digested bread for when we reach the care home!
23 March 2026 at 06:28 #841981
cedric 1
Participant
@cedric
Propane torch and a pair of pliers. The model engineer’s toaster.
23 March 2026 at 08:16 #841983
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
I must particularly thank John Haine for quoting Piet Hein’s witty ‘grook’ … it states the problem beautifully.

Here are a few more:

https://www.nbi.dk/~petersen/Quotes/Grooks/grooks.html

MichaelG.
23 March 2026 at 08:41 #841984
Andrew Crow
Participant
@andrewcrow91475
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks Michael, we learn something new every day!</p>
23 March 2026 at 09:06 #841987
Lee Rogers
Participant
@leerogers95060
Can’t help you with the single slice but my Dualit is the pro’s choice. A 30 second pre-heat results in very consistent results from 7am untill the last customer departs at 10.30. Expensive but all spare parts are available so once that you have one you can keep it going for ever. Things may fry and things may grill but the Dualit toaster goes on for ever.
23 March 2026 at 09:42 #841989
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
Lees point about a pre heat time is one of the problems, where the first slice may be under done and the second overdone as things warm up. How many people would want the complication or cost of such a machine – just for a slice of toast ? Industrial units do exist and cost £100s , I have one to repair that has a conveyor belt, bread in one side and toast comes out the other ! One problem was that people didn’t understand how it worked and would fiddle with the controls – I had to blank the controls off ! It would do 100s of slices every morning. Noel.
23 March 2026 at 14:07 #842036
Andrew Tinsley
Participant
@andrewtinsley63637
Not sure about a precision toaster. I can’t even find a single slice toaster. Yet everyone goes on about the need to conserve energy. So I have to soldier on with my two slice toaster and wasting energy!

Andrew.
23 March 2026 at 15:10 #842046
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Well -said, Andrew

My toast is always prepared one slice at a time !

MichaelG.
23 March 2026 at 15:15 #842048
duncan webster 1
Participant
@duncanwebster1
I don’t think it takes a genius to make a 2 slice toaster into one slice. Unless the 2 pairs of elements are in series, just snip through one set
23 March 2026 at 15:25 #842051
David Jupp
Participant
@davidjupp51506
A quick web search did find several single slice toasters. Unsurprisingly, little information on ‘precision’ or repeatability.
23 March 2026 at 18:24 #842083
Andrew Tinsley
Participant
@andrewtinsley63637
Hello Duncan,

Unfortunately all four of my toaster elements are in series. Otherwise I would have done as you suggested a long time ago.

David, I have done a web search several times for a single slice toaster, without any hits. Perhaps you could reveal your search term that gave you some results, I would be most grateful.

Andrew.
23 March 2026 at 18:31 #842084
David Jupp
Participant
@davidjupp51506
‘single slice toaster’ found a few, via google.
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