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Gastroback Design Pro 2S toaster review
Published: February 7, 2022 at 5:08 PM
4.0
A star rating of 4.0 out of 5.
This German toaster has a unique no-number dial. Read our full review of Gastroback Design Pro 2S.
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Pros
- Fun to watch, wide slots make it suitable for bagels and thick slices
Cons
- Didn’t always toast evenly on either side.
Gastroback Design Pro 2S toaster summary
In case you are not familiar with the name, this is a German brand that is fairly new to the British market.
What – no numbers on the dial? You may be confused when you first set this on your worktop, but once you start to use it, it all becomes clear. Instead of choosing a number, you twist the dial towards either the plus or minus signs and the digital display lights up with blue bars. Want a well-done slice? Carry on turning and more blue bars will appear.
More traditionally, there are cancel, reheat and defrost functions, with the description written out rather than appearing in icons.
On one side of the toaster is the lever to lower the bread and on the other a lever to bring up the bun warmer. This does mean that all the controls are not in one place which is a bit fiddly.
There’s a good instructions book with plenty of detail, including how much space the toaster needs around it on the counter (20cm on each side, if you’re interested), with details of the maximum and minimum slices you should insert. You can also download the operating instructions from the website which is handy if you lose the instruction book.
Read our review of the best toasters to buy
How easy is the Gastroback Design Pro 2S to use?
The main controls, such as the browning selector are on the front of the toaster rather than the side so this does take up more space on the worktop. To be fair though, it is a compact toaster so that isn’t too significant. The lever is on the side, so the toaster has to be twisted to access or you reach around.
Once you turn the dial, there’s a digital display that lights up so you can see the toasting level – there are actually nine options. These blue lights gradually turn off as the toast cooks, so you can see if it’s nearly ready.
The warming rack flipped up and back again smoothly. Under our strict testing conditions, we used it several times in a row, and the sides did get fairly hot but not after single use.
Results
We set the toaster to the middle level, 5. Our toast was reasonably quick, averaging about 2:15 mins for a standard slice. However one side was considerably more “done” than the other and on one occasion we had to declare it burnt. We had to experiment to find the best level, which varied according to bread types. Several-day-old bread on level four was perfect on both sides.
The toaster coped admirably with a bagel and fruit loaf. Reheat was a swift 25 seconds (the lights went in a different direction for this one) and the toast sprang up nicely in all cases when finished.
Conclusion
There are plenty of features to enjoy, notably the digital bar to show you how far along your toast is as well as the warming rack. We think this is one that needs playing with a bit to find the best level.
Full product specifications:
Wattage: 950w
Weight: 1.65k
Size: 24 x 17.5 mm x 18.5 cm
Key features:
Bagel function: no
Defrost function: yes
Cancel button: yes
Manufacturer warranty: 2 years
Removable crumb tray: yes
Wide slots: yes
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