Review on 🍞 Hamilton Beach Professional Stainless Steel 2-Slice Toaster with Bagel, Defrost, and Reheat Settings (Model 22990) by Alex Taylor

I have many Hamilton Beach products and this is my fourth toaster from this company. The toaster it replaced was a digital toaster and I liked it until it broke prematurely, nothing holds up these days, this model isn't digital but I was still hoping for great results. My desire to purchase this was due to the bagel feature which consists of toasting the cut side and only heating the outside. Many toasters say they have a "bagel function" but just means the slots are big enough for a bagel, it toasts the whole bagel, not what I expected or wanted. I bought 3 different toasters until I found this one that had the feature I wanted even from other Hamilton Beach toasters. From the very beginning of toasting plain white bread I found that the results of toasting bread were different each time I used it. Turning the toasting up to a higher level burned my toast. I found that I had to set it at 4.5 and it would still be too bright, so I took it down 15 seconds longer. It's hit or miss and it's the same for all types of bread. I've burned and used up more bread than you can imagine! For $60, it should give a decent and consistent toast hue, but it doesn't. I only keep it because it would be a hassle to get it back and I stick it right under the toast and watch it like a hawk for a few seconds to give the toast the desired hue. I do not recommend this toaster, it is not the quality I expected from Hamilton Beach. You will burn a lot of bread, and who can afford it!