I have strong opinions about toasters. Not because I am a kitchen gadget person — because I have owned four bad ones in a row and every morning started with a bagel that was charcoal on one side and bread on the other. It is the worst way to start a day.

After way too much research — reading reviews from Wirecutter, America’s Test Kitchen, and several hundred Amazon reviews from people who photograph their toast — I found a toaster that browns bagels evenly on both cut sides without burning the crust. Here is which one and why.

The Breville “A Bit More” toaster

The Breville BTA840XL Die-Cast 2-Slice Smart Toaster is the one. It costs more than a twenty-dollar drugstore toaster and there is a reason. The heating elements are positioned closer to the bread slot than cheaper toasters, which means more even browning across the entire surface. It has a motorized lift-and-look feature that raises the toast without canceling the cycle so you can check progress mid-toast. And the “A Bit More” button adds a small increment of time without restarting the whole cycle.

Why bagels are harder than bread

A bagel has one cut side and one crust side. Most toasters heat both slots equally, which means the cut side gets toasted while the crust side — which is already dense and darker — gets burned. The Breville has a dedicated bagel setting that reduces heat on the outer elements so the crust side stays warm without charring. The cut side gets full heat. Both sides come out evenly golden.

What else it does well

• Defrost mode: Thaws frozen bread before toasting. Takes longer but you get toast, not a warm frozen center.
• Wide slots: Fits thick bagels, artisan bread, English muffins without squishing.
• Self-centering racks: The bread guides automatically adjust to hold whatever you put in — thin or thick — so it does not lean against the heating elements and burn on one edge.
• LED countdown: Shows exactly how much time is left. No guessing.

The downsides

It is expensive — around eighty to a hundred dollars depending on sales. That is a lot for a toaster. It is also large. It takes up roughly the same counter space as a small microwave. If you have a tiny kitchen, measure before you buy. The four-slice version (BTA845XL) is even bigger but has the same features if you need to make more toast at once.

Is it worth it

If you eat toast or bagels most mornings, yes. A bad toaster ruins breakfast in a small but consistent way every single day. A good toaster makes breakfast slightly better every single day. Over the five to ten years a quality toaster lasts, the cost per use is pennies. I have had mine for two years. Every bagel comes out evenly brown on both sides. I have not had a burnt crust or a pale cut side once. For me, that is worth eighty dollars.