warm up toaster

Illustrations: David Wyffels

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You're Not Taking the Warm-Up Round into Consideration
We know some people won't talk in the morning until they've had a cup of coffee (not that we, um, feel this way ourselves). But the idea of not firing on all cylinders until you're warmed up doesn't just apply to caffeine addicts. Toasters need to ease into their day, too. When you toast the first round of bread in the morning, you're starting with a cold toaster. Once you move onto the second round, the elements and toaster body will be at full operating temperature, so subsequent batches will take less time to toast. Patricia Schweitzer, the consumer test-kitchen manager for Hamilton Beach home-appliance manufacturer, and Paula Pennington, a senior product manager at the company, suggest dialing your toaster down for round two (or three) so you don't burn the bread.