Choosing a Conveyor Toaster
Restaurants that are serious about their toast can't be limited by the slow production rate of a pop-up toaster. Slot toasters can't keep up with the breakfast rush at a busy diner or with toasting buns for a burger joint – for that, you'll need a high-production conveyor belt toaster. We'll help you sort through the different types of conveyor belt toasters, from horizontal to vertical, low to high capacity, size, and control style to ensure you end up with the best conveyor toaster to meet your needs.
Key Terms
- Pass-thru Time: Total time required for a piece of sliced bread to be toasted and ready to serve. Changes depending on the desired brownness of the toast.
- Contact: Heat transferred by directly touching the bread to a hot element, such as a platen.
- Two-sided Toasting: Elements provide heat on both sides of the toaster, browning both sides of the bread.
- Bun Toaster: Vertical toaster that uses only contact heat to toast the split side of hamburger buns. Some vertical toasters have contact toasting capabilities in addition to radiant toasting, but bun toasters use only contact heating.
- Butter Spreader: Holds butter and enables users to spread it on bread before toasting.
Vertical...
The first major choice you have to make is between a vertical and horizontal toaster. Vertical toasters accept bread through an opening on the top. Then, the bread is taken down through the machine and reappears toasted at the bottom. A horizontal toaster has an opening on the front of the machine, rather than the top, but toasted bread still exits at the bottom. The toasted product will be the same, so the primary difference between horizontal and vertical toasters is the overall shape of the machine.
...or Horizontal
Both toaster types utilize a conveyor belt to move bread through a cooking cavity, applying heat either through radiating elements or direct contact with a hot surface. Vertical toasters are generally thin and tall, using less counter space but requiring more room above the machine. Horizontal toasters take up more horizontal counter space and are fed from the front, which means the operator does not need access to the area above the toaster to use the unit, and horizontal toasters will fit beneath cabinets or shelving. Vertical toasters are not as deep, giving operators more counter space in front of the toaster on which to work. Consider the space you have available for a conveyor belt toaster when choosing between horizontal and vertical models.
Think about how much room you have available. If a taller, thinner machine would fit best, go with vertical; if a shorter, deeper machine would fit best, go with horizontal.
Slices Per Hour
Conveyor toasters are rated by how many slices of bread (or buns, or bagels) they can toast per hour, ranging from a few hundred to a couple thousand pieces. For comparison, even a commercial-grade four-slot toaster can only produce a few hundred slices an hour. To determine how many slices per hour you'll need, consider how many customers you serve during your busiest hour and how many slices of toast will be required per customer. If half of your customers order an entrée with one slice of toast, multiply your total hourly customers by 0.5, and you'll get an estimation of your required pieces of toast per hour, which should be taken as the minimum toasting speed you need for your machine. Also consider that the listed slices per hour is going to be a best-case scenario and the machine's actual output will usually be lower.
Take receipts from your busiest hour of the day and add up the amount of toast needed to fulfill those orders. Get a toaster that exceeds this number to ensure your new machine will be able to keep up.
Electronic or Manual Controls
Conveyor toasters enable operators to control the doneness of breads by changing the speed at which the belt moves. Quicker movement means less toasting time and less-browned bread. More sophisticated options offer specific controls for different types of bread. Manual controls are less likely to have electrical problems that need repairing, but electronic controls will need less cleaning, as there are fewer moving parts for grime and grit to get stuck in.
Electronic controls incorporate touchscreen buttons and digital displays that provide precise control over toasting speed and positioning. Advanced models may offer programmable settings for different items, which can simplify operation.
SHOPThe most common option, manual controls consist of one or more dials or switches that adjust toasting settings, such as speed, power, and product type. Some advanced models offer separate controls for top and bottom heat.
SHOPElectronic controls enable complex functions, while manual controls typically only account for doneness.
Belt Width and Product Opening
Belt width is a measurement of how wide the conveyor belt on the toaster is, and product opening is a measurement of the height of the aperture where you insert the bread. High-capacity machines generally have wide belts, while low-capacity machines will have narrower belts, and the width of the belt determines how many pieces of bread can fit on it side-by-side, which in turn contributes to total slices per hour. Large product openings accommodate thick pieces of toast, such as Texas toast or bagels, so if you plan on toasting large items, an increased belt width and product opening will give you more room to work with and potentially enable you to run two or more pieces through at a time. Measure the width and height of the item you plan on toasting to make sure your new toaster will be able to accommodate all your options.
- First, determine the counter space available for a toaster. Do you have room above for a vertical model, or do you only have available counter depth to accommodate a horizontal one?
- Second, decide how many slices per hour you need. Calculate how much toast you go through during the busiest hour of your day, and sort for machines that can match or exceed that need.
- Third, know what size bread you will be toasting. Ensure the belt width is wide enough and the product opening is tall enough to encompass the different pieces you plan on toasting.
- Fourth, choose your conveyor toaster model from the selected criteria. Consider the cost, your preferred brand, customer reviews, and aesthetic requirements.
