Kenmore Elite 76774 4-Slice Auto-Raise Lengthy Slot Toaster in Stainless Metal

A Truly State of the Art Toaster
After a two month long search for a new toaster that was akin to the search for the Holy Grail, I finally found “the one.” I am not sure when they stopped making decent toasters, but in reading the reviews on several different ones, I found that I was not alone in the quest to find one that actually worked correctly. I tried and returned many. I experienced an array of problems with all of them; inconsistent toasting on both sides of the bread being chief among them, but there were a myriad of other issues too. Not toasting the same each time using the same setting, bread getting caught on the lip when it rose and having to unplug it and pry the toast out with a knife on the last leverless one I tried (Cuisinart,) and finally one Black and Decker that ejected the toast so violently it sailed across the kitchen… The dog liked that one because he caught the toast when it was airborne like a Frisbee. Once I had already invested over $60 for the faulty Cuisinart, I found this Kenmore Elite and figured what was another $25. At this point, I was so frustrated I probably would have second mortgaged the house to find one that worked. I have had it now for nearly a year and use it every day. It’s fabulous. The first thing I liked, was that it did not have the weird chemical smell the first few times I used it as the others I tried did. I still ran it twice on the level 7 setting with nothing in it at the beginning, but was happy there was no odor to burn off. I’ve heard that smell is the norm for new appliances these days, but it seems unhealthy. This toaster toasts evenly on both sides of the bread, which is a nearly impossible feature to find in a toaster anymore. It offers an array of advanced features, including one where with the push of a button you can check and see if the toast is done enough, and another that will warm the toast back up for you if you don’t get to it right away. It has nice wide and long slots to fit anything, whether it be bagels or artisan breads without having to cut things in half or end up with an untoasted end. Other reviewers seem to feel that it takes longer to toast than other toasters. I have not found this to be the case. It takes the same amount of time as the others I have tried. All toasters need a few minutes to properly toast a piece of bread. I think this complaint comes from the fact that there is a timer, and it makes it feel longer when you are watching the clock count down. (That’s just my theory.) It takes 3 minutes on level 5, which is the setting I use most. While it is much larger than a standard toaster, the wide footprint doesn’t bother me because it is a very attractive toaster. I particularly like that the sides stay cool while it’s toasting and I love not having a lever to wear out. I would never go back to using a toaster with the lever. While no toaster is perfect, this one comes much closer to the mark than any of the others currently on offer in a major brand name. I should know, I have tried just about all of them. I appreciate the sleek and very modern looks of this toaster. It’s pretty pricey, but still more reasonable than many of the other high end leverless ones on the market, and it offers several more features– although some seem unnecessary, like the button for just using the front slot when toasting only one piece of bread, and the five beeps ( yes, five!) to let you know the toast is done. The important thing is that it works well and is not besieged with issues as many of the others I tried were. I began this review at four stars when I first got the toaster and bumped it up to five after owning it for a couple months. after a year it is still five stars and we’ll worth the price.

UPDATE – downgrade to 1 star, because it still kinda toasts but should be 0 stars
One star because it still toasts. After about six months some of the features became unavailable. By 9 months most of the features didn’t work. It was great while it lasted but not worth so much money for such a short appliance life.Original review – Through the 40 plus years (& 4 kids and various grandchildren) I’ve been using toasters, this is the first one I’m really happy with. Its slots are wide enough for bagels, which four slice toasters are too skinny for. It toasts rye bread, which is too long for regular slots. The Check feature is so cool, the way it raises the bread/toast to look-see if its the way we want it, then nicely goes back in. (Wish the kids would be so responsive!) The Warm feature eliminates the challenge to get hot toast the same time the eggs are done, and if we don’t know which number to use, its so easy to check and modify. It’s so quiet.It toasts fairly evenly, but not as I had hoped/expected. I haven’t tried this yet, but I wonder if it can lay on its side, and warm some butter or cheese on top of the bread?There isn’t room on my counter for it to live there and I was concerned it’d be too clunky to get down from, then put back on top the fridge, where a toaster has to live in my kitchen. It isn’t that bad though. The cord isn’t long, but is long enough. (I’d rather have a shorter cord than a fire hazard.)I’m glad I chose this toaster. I wonder if it’ll last 20, 25 years or more?

This toaster is worth the money, cooks perfect toast, easy to use and looks good on the counter. After years of crap toasters we now have one that cooks properly and evenly.

Takes 5-7 mins to make toast and lacks settings for frozen. Can’t toggle bagel mode during cooking, and sometimes the mechanism raises the toast up before going down when you press the toast button and your bread can actually fall out.