Slot Toaster Owners--Ever Toast on Top?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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So, this question obviously isn’t posed to those who toast in toaster ovens…

Lately I’ve gotten into having bagels for breakfast 2-4x/week. I buy a variety of flavors, but I’m particularly fond of bagels topped with seeds, including heavy coats of poppy seeds. These coatings commonly come off when toasted IN my toaster’s slots. What I’ve taken to doing is place the bagel halves horizontally, straddling the slots, i.e., with the slots themselves empty. Doing it this way doesn’t toast perfectly evenly, but if you clock the bagel during toasting, it works pretty well.

I’ve also realized this method works for folks with narrow slot toasters, and with turning the seeded side down.

Does anyone else do this?

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I toast hot dog buns the exact same way.

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Not me.

I occasionally warm something, like a potato cake, on the top but more often I’d use the microwave for warming through.

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That was my answer, too. Works great for those and hoagie buns. But I’m going to give it a shot the next time I make seeded bagels, too.

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I know this is going to sound stupid, and I don’t mean this be snarky at all, but why not just get a toaster oven?

Especially as it’s more versatile than a slot toaster and arguably does a better job of “toasting”?

Just curious, not a judgment at all.

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I would appreciate some discussion on this, or maybe there’s a thread some where? I haven’t had a toaster oven in decades. I have had a lousy toaster all that time, used nearly every day, not wide slot. Maybe toaster ovens have improved? I have a Cuisinart CSO and convection wall oven (used at least, oh, two times in the last 10 years).

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Hi Bruce. We’ve had quite a bit of comments on hating regular slot toasters, and how they’ve gotten worse compared to their older kinfolk over the years.

But as you suggest, it might be good to see what folks think of toaster ovens,

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Ah, let me count the ways… And these are all based on having TOs for many years. I disagree TOs do a better toasting job. My current Breville 800 certainly sucks at toast.

  1. I think TOs dry toast too much.
  2. I think TO’s (especially ones that are large enough to function as Os) take too long (see, #1).
  3. I think TOs take too much counter and cupboard space.
  4. I think the elements in TOs are not only too far from the bread, but also too widely spaced.

What would tempt me is a horizontal-slot toaster that would adjust the elements up and down to put the fine wire elements as close to the bread as they are in a vertical model.

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Interesting.

Would you (or have you?) considered toasting your seeded bagels on the stovetop with a pan?

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Yeah, sure you can do it that way. I toasted a lot of things when the woodstove was handy and running. Everyone always associates them with football, but did you know a ‘gridiron’ was designed for placing over an open eye/cover? Mine always lived too far out of reach to make a few slices of toast. Pretty cool for grilling steaks indoors, though.

For now at least, I’m just draping bagels across the toaster’s slots. The outdoor grill works fine, too, as long as I pay attention.

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I don’t use my toaster for these purposes. For items that are oversized, or oddly shaped, I more often than not use my broiler (on low, about 4-5 inches away from the element) or my grill if I happen to already be using it for other items.