Dualit Architect 4 Slot Toaster review

Those closer spaced elements were evident in toasting. We test with thick-cut Hovis sliced white bread and the results were good, with a nice even toasting across each side. The resulting toast was delicious, crisp on the outside and still moist in the middle. This is partly because the Architect works quickly (unlike some we know), producing toast to our liking in just one minute 44 seconds, the fastest time we’ve seen. However, it’s power-hungry too, eating up 0.043kWh for each slice or pair of slices.

Getting toast out wasn’t a problem, but even our fairly tall test slices only protruded by 50mm and there’s no additional lift provided on the handles. Lying our test bread down sideways reduced the grabbable area to just 10mm, which is too little for our liking; meanwhile a crumpet barely peaked above the slot.

Cleaning up is fairly straightforward, with slots that are completely open at the bottom, allowing the crumbs to fall freely onto the tray. This then slides out of the back of the toaster, not unusual but it does mean you won’t clean it out too often. As with all crumb trays we’ve seen, we wish this one was deeper, so it could handle an errant chunk of crust without getting jammed.

The Dualit Architect is a worthy stab by the venerable company at a pop-up design. The styling is great, but we’re a little upset that Dualit hasn’t used the same protected Proheat elements hear as it does in its classic designs. The Architect is considerably cheaper than those models, but at £100 it’s still pricier than the vast majority of pop-up toasters available.

is it worth the money then? We love the long slots, the even toasting, the speed and the lift-and-peek feature. It could do with more lift and for those who really like crumpets it’s one to avoid, plus if you do a lot of single slices it’s not the most even-sided toaster. All that said, it’s still a good buy if the look appeals to you, but toasters half the price are practically as good and it doesn’t fully live up to the name on the box.