Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Long Slot Review

Read on to discover how Breville did in each of our testing metrics.

Performance Comparison

Bread Toasting Quality

The Breville is above average in our bread toasting tests and well ahead of the worst score but behind our two top performers.

It toasted fairly evenly across sides, but slices tended to be a bit darker towards the bottom than at the top. The long slots can handle two slices in each slot, for a total of 4. This feature is great for families or people who often host overnight visitors. However, if you're only making 1 or 2 slices of toast at a time, we found that the vertical edges burned when toasting a single slice in each slot. This problem almost disappeared when toasting two slices in each slot. So, if you want to use the Breville to toast two slices of toast, we suggest you put both of them into the same slot. Most people won't mind these slight inconsistencies and the corresponding drop-off in quality from the top performers to the Breville. If you are especially particular about your toast, you may want to consider different toaster options, but all others will find the Breville's toast perfectly acceptable and delectable.

Ease of Use

In most metrics, the Breville scored in the average to slightly above average range. Ease of use is where it separates itself from the crowd. It earned the top score in this metric, putting it well above the bottom score.

The crumb tray can easily be removed from the front with one hand, and its deep channel avoids any mess on the way to the trash can. Except for the shade dial, all of its controls sit on top of the toaster, where they are easy to see. LEDs illuminate a ring around the buttons when they are pressed, giving you clear feedback. The toast/cancel button glows blue before toasting; when pressing, it will initiate a cycle and glows red while toasting when pressing, it will cancel a cycle. It utilizes a sliding adjuster to select the shade setting, which several LEDs indicate. Those same LEDs function as a countdown clock while toasting.

This is great, but the creme de la creme is the lift-to-look button. One simple press lifts the toast out of the toaster, revealing what crispy shade of brown was obtained, and then quickly lowers it back in, all without interrupting the cycle. No more guesswork; if you think your toast may be close to done, just take a peek without canceling the cycle and readjust settings. It was Breville's seamless lift and look function that finally quelled our trepidation about using a leverless toaster with an electric elevator. The Breville also has a 'bit more' button. If your toast comes out just slightly too light for your liking, you can push this button to lower the toast back down for a short finish cycle. While this is an interesting feature, we did not find ourselves using it that often in our testing.

Bagel toasting quality

The Breville produced decent bagels in our testing. The models we tested that could fit bagels in their slots scored between 4 and 8, which puts Breville towards the middle of the group.

Its problems with burning edges were magnified when dealing with bagels. It often left one side scorched while the other was still reasonably white. It slightly redeemed itself by managing to warm up the backside of bagels without actually toasting them. This performance was acceptable but much worse than even low-end toaster ovens and a far cry from the top-scoring Smeg 2-Slice.

Frozen Food/Defrosting Quality

The Breville again scored average in our defrosting tests.

It produced decent toast from frozen bread, but, as also occurred in our bagel testing with bagels, its problems with burning edges seemed to be somewhat magnified by the added challenges. It had similar results with frozen waffles, thawing and toasting them all the way through but with a good amount of burning and scorching at the edges. Breville's defrost setting simply extends the cycle time rather than utilize the two-phase thaw-then-toast technique of other models. This is most likely why it was outperformed in our defrosting tests by the competitors. However, despite its less than optimal setting, it could still perform better than the majority of models we tested.

Should You Buy the Breville?

The Breville is one of the most expensive toasters we've tested. For someone who just remodeled their kitchen and wants appliances that will fit in with all their shiny new appliances, the Breville is a great value. Its all-metal body exudes a sense of modernness and quality, and models with a similar aesthetic from other manufacturers can cost double. The Breville Die-Cast is probably the most visually stunning model we tested. It's the toaster all the other toasters want to ask to prom but are too intimidated to do so. On top of its aesthetics, the Breville offers the best user interface we experienced. With its higher price, the Breville isn't for everybody. If you're someone whose primary concern is toasting quality, the Breville is not a great value. But if you don't mind spending a little extra, want something on your counter that looks like a monument to quality, and want to be reminded of that quality every time you use it, then the Breville is a clear choice.

What Other Toaster Should You Consider?