Toastmaster 328BC 6 Slice Toaster Oven/Broiler with Bagel Switch

Customer Reviews

uneven toasting

2007-11-28
As one review put it - this oven toasts remarkably unevenly. One part of the toast or waffle gets burnt while the other half is just right.

overtoasted

2007-03-27
I have used a small (two slice) B & D toaster oven for several years. It still works good, but I wanted a bigger one.
This one looks nice and blended in with my other appliances (bad choice)
I bought this and toasted one slice of bread to see how long it would take. In just a couple of minutes the toast was burned and in the middle of the bread, was an even more burned circle.
I put in two pieces of bread and on the same setting. It was terrible
top half of one slice was overtoasted and the other top half was undertoasted. The opposite side of the bread was overtoasted.
I am amazed at the uneveness of the toasting. It will be returned and I am not sure which brand I will try next.

Uneven

2007-02-07
Purchasing this oven through Amazon was painless and flawless. What a GREAT way to shop for anything! OK - onto the oven itself:
It has a good feel, the oven door is smooth and doesn't scrape or creak like so many others. It has two wire racks that can be flipped over for a wide variety of positions within the oven. And it has a crumb tray at the bottom that pulls out easily for cleaning right from the front. What a great idea.

It turns on - and off - with a rotary count-down timer dial. It can be set for up to an hour. None of the other toaster ovens I've had automatically turned off so I look forward to this safety improvement. I just hope a crank dial is as durable as a simple on/off switch.

The only negative so far - and it's a big one - is the top elements burn a LOT hotter than the bottom ones. They are really cookin' by the time the bottom ones start heating up and seem to burn brighter in general. The bottom rack when positioned normally sits almost right on the bottom elements and initially, I figured that was way too close. But after seeing how the heating elements work (whether in the toast setting or bake setting) it looks like I'll be cooking everything on the bottom rack in that position. Maybe this oven is defective - maybe not. Since I don't eat toast I have no idea if this oven can toast evenly, but I am skeptical. If all you want is a toaster oven for your morning toast, I'd check out the reviews of ones that say they're great for toast specifically. I use mine to bake eggs and enchiladas and it's handling the task OK. Looking at how variable all the toaster oven reviews are, maybe it's impossible to make a toaster oven that can handle everything perfectly. Luckily, I think I've found one that can handle the types of foods I'll be using it for. Since it has a nice feel and it wasn't very expensive, I'm satisfied.

This toaster is smokin'!...In a good way

2005-09-19
After over a decade of trustworthy service my Black and Decker finally gave up the ghost. With a lot of research I selected this as its replacement. I have not been disappointed. Things I love about this toaster oven:
-2 racks! I can bake off a tray of salad croutons and another of almonds at the same time. Or cook breakfast sausages and finish a frittata - at the same time. Or keep two plates of dinner warm - at the same time! This has been really handy for all kinds of things when I'm in a hurry and don't want to be juggling (small) hot pans.
-The timer. No need to worry about burning the pine nuts again. Just set the timer and the oven turns off when the time runs out. Easy.
-Great size for my fairly small kitchen. An 8" sauté pan fits inside with the oven door only open a little for the handle to stick out. This is great for finishing dishes under the broiler. Similarly, to heat or hold food, dinner plates fit in without a problem. Considering this, it takes up much less countertop than many other models with similar interior space. (I haven't tried 6 slices of toast, but 4 is no problem).
-It looks and feels pretty good. I went to several stores to look at the design and check out the feel of as many items as possible before purchasing. This is actually how I found the Toastmaster. Initially it wasn't even on my list, short or otherwise. The Toastmaster holds it's own against any toaster in the price range, and I even preferred it over the DiLonghi. Its lines are simple and understated, the knobs feel sturdy, not like they'll fall off in a month, and the door opens and closes nicely.
Things I don't love:
-Maybe a little complicated to use, but if you can drive a car you can certainly work this toaster before your morning coffee has kicked in. The section on how to toast bread actually took almost two pages in the instruction manual! However, all that text translates to a few basic steps, and I'm making toast just fine, except for my next point...
-Uneven broiling. Portions at the back of the unit definitely get darker than those at the front. This means you might want to rotate things halfway through, but for me neither unevenness nor rotating is really a big deal, so this doesn't bother me too much. The trade in capacity and overall product quality is worth it.