KitchenAid MTKK400 Toaster

[frigilux]

My new toaster arrived today, and overall, it's a fine specimen.

POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES:
*The controls are simple and feel solid.
*You can wrap excess power cord underneath the toaster.
*There are special cycles for bagels/English muffins and warming previously toasted items.
*Handles even very thick items, like Thomas's Bagels.
*Toasts items fairly evenly.
*Outside of toaster remains cool to touch, even after successive batches.

NOT-SO-POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES:
*There is no "extra lift" function to aid in grasping small items like slices of French bread.
*There is no special cycle for toasting frozen items.
*Would be more convenient if crumb trays pulled out from the front.
*Stainless steel does not have "easy care" finish, so upkeep will be brutal.

 

[frigilux]

Aerial view.

The two little graphics at the front of each pair of slots remind you to face the cut side of bagels/English muffins toward the center.

 

[frigilux]

On to the finished products!

First, bagels.

I keep two types of bagels on hand: Soft, white-breadish bagels for sandwiches (Thomas's bagels); traditional bagels (which require more tug-of-the-tooth) for a schmeer.

On the left is a Thomas's bagel; on the right, a 1st National bagel. Both were toasted on darkness setting #4. I prefer the less toasted 1st National version. Will remember to toast Thomas's bagels at setting #3.

 

[frigilux]

Next, a Thomas's English Muffin, split using a fork. Setting #4.

I used the bagel cycle for both the bagels and muffin. It toasts the cut sides and heats the outer sides. Very nicely done!

CYCLE TIMING:
Thomas's Bagel---3:16
1st National Bagel---3:03
English Muffin---3:15

 

[frigilux]

Toast made with homemade sandwich bread, using setting #3

Time: 2:36

 

[frigilux]

Toast made using setting #4.

 

[frigilux]

Toast made using setting #5.

At $99.99, the toaster is not inexpensive, but it appears to be a high-quality appliance, and it produces very good toast. I'm impressed with how it handles very thick items.

 

[frigilux]

Whoops, screwed up sandwich bread toasting times.

Setting #3---1:47
Setting #4---2:00
Setting #5---2:36

 

[jeffg]

Thanks Eugene, much appreciated!

 

[rp2813]

And it complements your stove quite nicely!

Ralph

 

[frigilux]

Thanks, Ralph! Here's the west wall of my kitchen.

 

[maytagbear]

Hey, Eugene-

are both processors Cuisinarts, or is one a KitchenAid?

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[frigilux]

You're up late, too, eh, Lawrence?!

The processor on the left is a 14-cup Cuisinart. I use it for making all my bread doughs.

The processor in the middle is an 11-cup KitchenAid. I use it for most other tasks, as it is more convenient to use than the Cuisinart. The Cuisinart has an additional part (a food pusher---you can see it on the counter in front of the box of deli wax paper sheets) which has to be put into place, then removed each time you want to remove the lid from the processor bowl.

On the right (you can see the lid) is a baby Cuisinart, used for processing chunks of Parmesan cheese and things like that.

 

[gadgetgary]

At $99.99, the toaster is not inexpensive

Oh really?

Quite pricey in my book.

 

[jetcone]

Gene thanks for the toasting comparisons

I like your timing! But that bagel on the right is shakey to say the least for me... you do know you can get worms from raw toast???!!

BTW on your homemade pullman, do you do a double rise?? And do you add gluten to the dough??

jet

 

[frigilux]

Jon Charles: Who told you about the pullman?! That's it, I have to go underground, now. (Single rise, no gluten; bread flour)

 

[maytagbear]

Eugene-

Gold Medal, or King Arthur?

I have a slight preference for the King Arthur flours, but only certain stores around here stock them.

A kind friend sent me a new 12 cup KitchenAid processor, and I loves it. I have a 5 cup KitchenAid processor which I bought as a refurb from Amazon, and it is excellent, but small.
(However, it makes great pizza crust!)

I have a Cuisinart chopper (needs new lid), and a Cuisinart 7 cup, (needs all new plastic...accidentally destroyed it.....)

I've been licking the pages (well, almost) of Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible. In my Amazon review I said that Beard on Bread is the Old Testament (as it were), and Beranbaum is the New Testament. Rose is also on YouTube now, under "RealBakingWithRose."

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[frigilux]

Gold Medal and Pillsbury are the two easily-accessed brands in my area. I often buy unbleached organic bread flour from the local food co-op, but I have no idea what brand it is.

I've made my own sandwich bread, French bread, Jewish rye loaves, and dinner rolls since I was in my twenties---always using either a food processor or a KitchenAid standing mixer. For the hundreds (thousands?) of loaves I've made, not once have I hand-kneaded the dough.

There's just nothing like homemade bread, and it perfumes the house, too.

I have 8 perforated French bread pans left over from my catering days. I used to have to crank out 20-40 loaves for some events. I'd come home from my day job and crank out eight loaves in an evening. My old Cuisinart would be almost too hot to touch after those workouts! Funny thing, though; I never burned out a motor. It was always the plastic stem in the work bowl or the safety interlock tabs in the food pusher or lid that would break.

I've seen Rose Levy Beranbaum's show on PBS; I'll have to check out her bread book.

 

[mayguy]

Why do you have two stoves? You have a very larage family that you need two stoves?

 

[frigilux]

I cook a lot, and rather than have a double wall oven, I thought it would be great to have two ranges; one gas and one electric.

I like the electric burners for boiling large pots of water for pasta. I like the gas burners for sauteing. The gas oven gets used more during the winter, as it warms the kitchen. I use the electric oven in the summer, and to cook cakes and cookies, as it heats more evenly.

My social life consists of having people over for dinner or Sunday brunch, so the kitchen gets a lot of use.