Black & Decker 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel

Why I reached for this 4-slice toaster

Mornings in my house are chaotic: someone wants bagels, someone else prefers thick-cut sourdough, and there’s always a frozen waffle making an appearance. I switched to the Black & Decker 4-slice to see if a compact, dual-control toaster could keep everyone happy without hogging counter space. After several weeks of daily use, I have a pretty clear picture of what it does well—and what you’ll want to know before you buy.

Design and build

This toaster has a compact footprint for a 4-slice: about 10.6 by 11.8 inches, and just 7.6 inches tall. At 3.5 pounds, it’s relatively lightweight. That’s nice for moving it around the counter, but it also means you’ll want to keep a hand on the body when you press the levers to keep it from scooting. Rubber feet help, but heavier toasters tend to feel more planted.

The stainless exterior aims for a brushed look, though in practice it reads a bit shinier than I expected. It’s clean and modern, but it does show fingerprints easily. A quick pass with a microfiber cloth keeps it looking tidy. Heat management is decent; the sides get warm during longer cycles (bagel mode or back-to-back batches), but not dangerously hot.

Controls and everyday usability

Each pair of slots operates independently: two shade dials, two sets of mode buttons (Bagel, Frozen), and a Cancel button on each side. That independence is the toaster’s biggest everyday convenience. My go-to is a medium shade (around 3–4) on one side for standard sandwich bread, while the other side handles bagels on a slightly darker setting. If you’re juggling preferences, it’s liberating not to compromise.

The shade selector offers seven steps. In my testing, the range spans very light to quite dark without jumping abruptly between settings. I found shade 4 to be a good baseline for white or wheat sandwich bread, 5 for thicker sourdough, and 3–4 in Bagel mode for bagels.

The levers are elongated for an “extra lift” that helps retrieve short slices or English muffins. That extra height is genuinely useful. The lever action, however, is on the firm side. I had a couple of occasions where a lever didn’t latch on the first push; reseating the bread and pressing more deliberately solved it, but if you prefer a feather-light touch—or have sensitive hands—this mechanism may feel a bit stiff. There’s an audible click when a cycle ends; it’s not obnoxious, but it’s sharper than a soft mechanical pop.

Cancel works instantly, which I appreciate when a batch starts to run darker than expected.

Slot capacity and bread handling

The slots are nicely wide and use self-centering guides. Thick, hand-sliced sourdough, dense rye, and bagels all fit without snagging. The guides grip evenly and do a credible job of centering uneven slices so both sides toast at roughly the same distance from the elements.

Slot height is standard. Tall artisanal loaves will still peek out at the top; I occasionally flipped taller slices halfway through a dark toast to keep the crown from lagging behind. That’s typical of most 4-slice toasters in this price bracket.

Toasting performance and evenness

On basic white and multigrain sandwich bread at shade 4, I consistently got a medium-golden finish in about 2:40 to 3:00. Edges and centers browned within an acceptable margin of each other; the toast looked uniform enough that I didn’t feel the need to rotate slices mid-cycle.

Where evenness can waver is across the four slots. The two left slots tracked closely to each other; the two right slots did the same; but left vs right were not always identical in baseline heat. In practice, that means if you set both sides to shade 4, one pair might land a half-shade lighter or darker. If I’m toasting for a crowd, I set the darker-leaning side a click lighter to keep everything synced.

Bagel mode prioritizes the cut face and eases off the outer face. It worked properly: bagel interiors came out crisp and golden at shade 3–4 without over-drying the exterior. Frozen waffles on Frozen + shade 4 took about 3:10 and finished evenly with a good crunch outside and soft interior. Pastries like toaster strudels benefited from dropping one shade to avoid over-browning the sugar.

Back-to-back batches warmed the internal components slightly, which shortened cycle time by roughly 10–15 seconds and nudged results a shade darker. If you care about precision, nudge the dial down a click for the second run or give it a minute to cool.

Speed and consistency

It’s not the fastest 4-slice I’ve used, but it’s steady. Expect:
- White/wheat sandwich bread (shade 4): ~2:45
- Thick sourdough (shade 5): ~3:10
- Bagel, cut side emphasized (shade 3–4): ~2:30–2:50
- Frozen waffle (Frozen + shade 4): ~3:10

Cycle-to-cycle consistency was good once I learned the personality of each side. The shade steps are meaningful, and the Cancel button makes it easy to fine-tune on the fly.

Cleaning and maintenance

A pull-out crumb tray catches the bulk of debris and slides freely. I made a habit of dumping it weekly, and that kept the interior tidy. The stainless housing wipes down quickly, but because of the shinier finish, I’d recommend a microfiber cloth to keep fingerprints and smudges at bay.

Crumbs do collect on the top deck around the slots, as they do on most toasters. A small pastry brush or a quick blast with a handheld vacuum takes care of it.

Heat, noise, and safety

The unit’s chime/click at the end of a cycle is easy to hear from across the kitchen; I never missed a pop-up. It’s on the sharper side, so if you prefer a barely-there sound, note that this one announces itself. The high-lift lever genuinely reduces fishing for short slices, which is good for fingertips. Exterior heat is moderate; I wouldn’t park it under a low cabinet during long or repeated cycles without pulling it forward for airflow.

What could be better

• Evenness across all four slots: Within each pair, it’s dependable; across both pairs, there’s a small but noticeable variance. Learn which side runs hotter and adjust the dial one click if you’re batch-toasting.
• Lever feel: The action is a bit stiff, and on a few attempts, it didn’t latch until I reseated the bread. That’s not a dealbreaker, but it mars an otherwise straightforward user experience.
• Finish maintenance: The stainless looks nice out of the box but shows fingerprints and smudges easily. If you like a low-maintenance matte finish, plan on more frequent wipe-downs.

Who it suits

• Families or roommates who want different doneness levels at the same time. Independent controls are the hero here.
• Bagel lovers. The wide slots and Bagel mode produce crisp cut faces without over-toasting the outside.
• Anyone with a mix of bread styles—thick artisan slices, standard sandwich bread, frozen breakfast items—who wants a single, compact toaster to handle them.

If you want perfectly uniform browning across all four slots or whisper-quiet operation, there are more premium options that do those things better, typically with heavier builds and motorized lifts.

Recommendation

I recommend the Black & Decker 4-slice for households that value versatility and independent controls in a compact, budget-friendly package. It toasts well, handles thick items without drama, and the Bagel and Frozen modes work as promised. You’ll need to learn the slight personality difference between the left and right pairs of slots, and you may find the lever action a touch stiff. If those trade-offs are acceptable, it’s a capable everyday toaster with features that punch above its size.

If your priorities are absolutely even browning across all four slots, a quieter finish, and the lightest lever action, I’d steer you toward a heavier, higher-end model. For most daily toast, bagels, and frozen items, though, this one gets the job done reliably—and lets two people get exactly the toast they want at the same time.