ProCook 4-Slice Toaster review: “evenly browned toast with grown-up good looks”

RRP at time of testing: £84 | Check price at ProCook

Our Verdict

The ProCook 4-Slice Toaster is one of those upgrades you don’t realise you need until it’s sitting in your kitchen. My old toaster still technically worked after seven years, so replacing it had never felt urgent. Then I started using this one and realised how much easier – and nicer – an everyday appliance could be.

While £84 is a little more than I'd normally pay for a toaster, the value is in price per use and convenience. Over two weeks, I used it constantly. It handled toast and crumpets when my four children came home hungry from school, and more leisurely weekend breakfasts involving bagels and English muffins. I even tried it for a classic beans on toast at Sunday tea time and being able to toast four slices at once sped up supper, which was a big tick for me. A further win was that I could make myself a cuppa at the same time, using the matching kettle.

The Procook toaster has a matching kettle option - in white, grey or silver

The toast itself came out evenly browned, while the wide slots accommodated thicker bread without anything getting wedged. The defrost function was excellent with homemade sourdough – not homemade by me, I should add – straight from the freezer. It came out crisp around the edges and properly warm in the middle. Chef’s kiss.

I also appreciated the high-lift levers. Most of us have, at some point, watched a crumpet disappear into a toaster and been tempted to fish it out with a fork. Here, lifting the lever raises smaller items far enough to grab them safely, without putting fingers or cutlery anywhere near the heating elements. It’s a simple feature, but one I appreciated every time we toasted crumpets.

Even cleaning was less annoying. My old toaster seemed to store crumbs indefinitely before scattering them across the worktop whenever it moved. With the ProCook, I could slide out the two crumb trays, tip everything into the bin and put it back in seconds. The shiny stainless steel also wiped clean easily, despite regular contact with sticky fingers, including mine when I buttered one slice while waiting for the next.

Most importantly, I enjoyed using this kitchen gadget. The ivory finish looks smart, the heavy body stays firmly in place and the knobs and levers feel solid. After years of using a toaster whose controls had gradually fallen off, that alone felt like an upgrade.

At £84, it won’t make sense for everybody. But I use my toaster every day, and the ProCook made filling up children's bellies quicker while looking much better on the worktop.

How I've tested the ProCook 4-slice toaster

I tested the white ProCook 4-slice toaster for two weeks in my family kitchen. With four children and a sporty husband, we get through plenty of carbs, so our toaster rarely gets a quiet day.

I started with standard slices of my favourite Jason’s Sourdough Ciabattin, comparing the browning across all four slots. I also ran the two sides at different settings because my family can’t agree on what properly cooked toast looks like: some want it lightly golden, while others prefer it alarmingly close to black.

A lot of toast was consumed while testing the ProCook 4-slice toaster

At the weekend, I brought out the bagels and crumpets to see whether the wide slots could accommodate thicker items without squashing them or leaving anything stuck inside.

For the defrost test, I toasted homemade sourdough – not made by me, I should add – straight from the freezer. I checked whether it warmed all the way through without burning at the edges or drying out in the middle.

I also paid attention to the everyday details. I watched whether the toaster moved when my older children pressed the levers, how quickly they understood the controls and whether the high-lift function made smaller crumpets easier to retrieve. Finally, I wiped away fingerprints and emptied the crumb tray to see how easy it would be to keep the toaster looking shiny in my busy, slightly chaotic kitchen.

ProCook 4-Slice Toaster: what’s in the box? 

• ProCook Stainless Steel 4-Slice Toaster

• Removable crumb trays, already fitted

• Instructions

The toaster arrived protectively wrapped in tissue paper to preserve it’s shine. I carefully cut this off and it was ready to use in seconds.

There is absolutely nothing to assemble. All I had to do was remove the plastic safety cover from the plug, put it in the socket and power it on.

The toaster arrives in one piece, securely packed

ProCook 4-Slice Toaster: First impressions

My first thought was that this toaster looked far more expensive than my old one. I tested the ivory version, which is more of a soft, warm white than cream, with highly polished stainless-steel details. They’re so shiny that I could practically use the toaster as a mirror. While taking photographs for this review, I kept spotting my own reflection in the sides.

The stainless steel is so shiny, you can see your reflection in it

Admittedly, the competition wasn’t strong. My previous toaster was seven years old, several of its knobs had fallen off and I’d become so used to its tired appearance that I’d stopped noticing it. Putting the ProCook beside it made me realise it was probably overdue for retirement.

I paid particular attention to the controls because that was where my old toaster had started to fall apart. The ProCook’s levers and browning dials felt chunky and secure, without any wobbling or the hollow plastic clunk you can get from a cheaper model. Nothing loosened during my two-week test.

The next thing I noticed was its weight. At 2.7kg, it’s quite clunky to lift and move, although it stayed firmly in place when I pushed the levers down. That was useful when my older children made their own toast, but I wouldn’t want to retrieve it from a cupboard every morning.

It isn’t compact either. At 29 × 27cm, it takes up considerably more worktop space than a two-slice toaster. I’d measure your available space before buying and expect to leave it out permanently.

How well does the ProCook toaster make toast?

In my tests, the ProCook 4-Slice Toaster browned bread evenly across all four slots. I didn’t find obvious pale patches or burnt edges, and I got consistent results when making batches back to back. Paul Hollywood and the Great British Bake-Off team would appreciate the consistency.

The first setting produces a light level of crispiness, consistent across all slices

I filled all four slots with slices from the same loaf and compared the colour on both sides. I repeated the test at different browning levels and the results stayed impressively similar.

I found the seven browning levels gave me plenty of control. Lower settings produced lightly golden bread, while turning the dial up gave me a darker, crisper finish without immediately cremating the toast.

The two sides have separate controls, so I could prepare lighter toast on one side and a darker batch on the other. This was useful in my house, where everybody has a slightly different idea of what properly toasted bread looks like.

Once I had worked out our preferred settings, I could push down the levers and get on with the rest of breakfast. I didn’t need to keep stopping the cycle or peering into the slots to check whether anything was burning.

Can the ProCook toaster fit bagels, crumpets and thick bread?

I fitted bagels, crumpets and thick slices of sourdough comfortably inside the ProCook’s 3.5cm-wide slots. I didn’t need to squash anything down, and none of the food became wedged inside.

My bagels browned evenly, although the ProCook doesn’t have a dedicated bagel setting. It toasted both sides so the bagel ended up a little crispy than it would have done on a specifica bagel setting, but we don't eat that many bagels so it's not a deal-breaker.

I found the high-lift levers particularly useful for crumpets. I’ve definitely been guilty of watching something small disappear into a toaster and wondering whether I could fish it out with a fork. Here, I could lift the food above the heating elements and remove it without putting my fingers or any cutlery inside.

I used the high-lift feature every time we toasted crumpets, and it quickly became one of my favourite details. My older children also found it easier to reach their snacks once I had shown them how the lever worked.

Thick sourdough slices went in and came out cleanly too. I never had to unplug the toaster and wait for it to cool before attempting a bread rescue.

The only downside was the length of the slots. If you buy freshly made loaves of bread or the supermarket sourdough, you'd have to cut a slice in half before toasting. There are dedicated toasters for bigger loaves, like the Graef 4-slice toaster.

Does the ProCook toaster work well with frozen bread?

I found the ProCook’s defrost function worked extremely well with frozen sourdough. It left the crust crisp and golden while warming the middle properly, without making the bread taste dry.

For this test, I used homemade sourdough straight from the freezer. I didn’t thaw it first. I put the slices into the toaster, pressed the defrost button and allowed it to adjust the cycle.

The result was genuinely chef’s kiss. The outside had a satisfying crunch, while the centre remained soft enough to taste fresh rather than like bread that had been sitting in the freezer.

I often freeze good bread because the kids prefer standard sliced bread, saying fresh bread has too much crust, leaving only my husband and I to polish off the better stuff. After this test, I’d happily toast individual slices from frozen rather than remembering to take them out in advance.

What other features does the toaster have?

I used the reheat button to warm toast that had gone cold without putting it through another complete browning cycle. This proved useful when breakfast was interrupted or I became distracted while making several things at once.

I also found it handy when buttering one batch while the next was still in the toaster. Toast tastes better when the butter melts straight into it, and the reheating button allowed everyone to experience this and not just the people who received the first two slices.

A cancel button stopped the cycle and raised the bread immediately. I used it while finding the right browning levels for my fussy daughter who likes toast to taste like toast but doesn't want it to have any kind of colour.

Is the ProCook 4-Slice Toaster safe for children to use?

I felt comfortable allowing my older children to use the ProCook with me nearby. Its 2.7kg body stayed firmly in place when they pressed down the levers, rather than sliding backwards across the worktop.

I found the knobs easy for them to grip and the levers didn’t need an awkward amount of pressure. The high-lift function also helped them remove crumpets and smaller slices without reaching towards the slots.

The stainless-steel body and the area around the slots still become hot, so I wouldn’t leave a young child to use the toaster alone. I reminded mine not to touch the top and to ask me for help if anything became stuck.

Is there a matching kettle to the ProCook Toaster?

Yes. ProCook makes a matching kettle in the same ivory, grey and silver colour options, and the two appliances complement each other beautifully.

The toaster looks smart on its own, but placing it beside the matching kettle gives the worktop a much more polished, coordinated finish. If you’ve recently updated your kitchen or need to replace old appliances, the pair feel like a polished grown-up set that belongs in a home of an adult who has their stuff together, without reaching Smeg-level prices.

You can read my full ProCook kettle review here.

How easy is it to clean the ProCook 4-slice toaster?

Cleaning is never my favourite part of testing, and the ProCook’s mirror-like stainless steel initially made me nervous. It looked as though every sticky fingerprint would show.

Thankfully, it was easier to keep shiny than I expected. I followed ProCook’s cleaning instructions, using a damp cloth for everyday marks and drying the surface afterwards to avoid streaks. Most fingerprints came away without scrubbing.

I used a dedicated stainless-steel cleaner once when the polished sections needed a little more attention. I applied a small amount with a cloth and buffed the surface afterwards, which brought back the almost mirror-like shine without leaving streaks.

The ProCook toaster's two removable crumb trays were super useful

The crumb trays were even easier. They slid out smoothly, emptied straight into the bin and wiped clean in seconds. This was a considerable improvement on my old toaster, which deposited crumbs on the worktop even if you just lightly touched it.

I emptied the trays regularly so crumbs didn’t build up and start smelling burnt. A few collected around the tops of the slots, but a soft brush dealt with those.

The ProCook will never hide fingerprints in the way a matt plastic toaster might, but keeping it looking smart didn’t become the chore I’d feared.

Is the ProCook 4-slice toaster good value for money?

This depends on how hard your current toaster works. If it only handles a couple of slices in the morning and spends the rest of the day untouched, £84 will probably feel excessive. There are much cheaper options in our best toasters guide that will brown bread perfectly well.

In my house, the calculation is slightly different. With four children, the toaster is used for breakfast, after-school snacks and the occasional emergency meal when somebody suddenly decides they hate what I’ve cooked. Four wide slots save time, and being able to toast crumpets, bagels and thicker sourdough without anything becoming wedged is genuinely useful.

The ProCook levers are sturdy and safe for kids to use under supervision

You are partly paying for its appearance, of course. A cheaper toaster can offer defrost, reheat and adjustable browning settings, but it probably won’t give your kitchen the same polished lift. If you want the cheapest way to make toast, I’d spend less. If your toaster is used several times a day and permanently sits on display, I think the ProCook justifies the extra cost.

Compare 4-slice toasters: ProCook vs Cookworks vs Smeg

Final verdict: Is this the toaster for you?

The ProCook’s four wide slots made it easier to prepare toast for several people at once, whether that was at breakfast, after school or on the weekend. It browned bread evenly, fitted bagels and crumpets comfortably and produced particularly good results with frozen sourdough.

I also appreciated the everyday details. The high-lift levers made smaller items easier to retrieve, the crumb trays kept cleaning simple and the substantial body stayed put when my children used the controls.

At £84, it costs considerably more than a basic four-slice toaster. However, the sturdy controls, consistent results and smart stainless-steel finish made it feel worth it, in my opinion.

If you rarely use a toaster, a cheaper option will probably be enough. If yours is used regularly and stays on the worktop, the ProCook offers a good balance of performance, build quality and design.

About the Author

Zoe Griffin is a mum of four and Mumsnet content writer specialising in home essentials and appliances. She has 15 years’ journalism experience and has written for The Daily Telegraph, Mail Online, the Sunday Mirror and The Independent. When she's not on a laptop, she enjoys long-distance running, karate and cheering on Brentford FC.

About Mumsnet reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of hands-on testing. We never accept payment for coverage, and our verdicts are independent and honest. We may earn a small commission through affiliate links, which helps fund our work - but it never influences our opinions.

All prices are correct at the time of writing.

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