The Cuisinart 4 Slice Custom Select Toaster is a mid-range toaster with a metal body. It offers a few extra features, including a 'Defrost' button and a button that lets you toast in a single slot. It has specific modes for bread, bagels, pastries, waffles, and more, and its slots are wide and deep enough for a variety of baked goods.
Our Verdict
The Cuisinart CPT-640 offers decent performance for everyday use. It has four fairly large slots, so it fits most types of bread, and includes convenient settings for waffles, pastries, English muffins, bread, and bagels. However, it toasts lightly, so regardless of what you're making, if you prefer your baked goods darkly toasted, you have to run a second cycle. The bagel setting allows for one-sided toasting, so you can brown the cut side of a poppy or sesame seed bagel without burning the seeds on the other side. It's a satisfactory option for toast, too, since it browns the surface of your bread evenly, and quickly enough that it doesn't start to dry out before popping back up. Unfortunately, it toasts one side of each slice darker than the other and provides different results in each slot. It also leaves a lot of crumbs on your counter.
Toasts quickly, without drying out your food.
Toasts the surface of each slice evenly.
Includes one-sided toasting.
Requires you to clean the countertop after each use.
Inconsistent performance between slots.
Toasts lightly.
The Cuisinart CPT-640 is decent for toast. This model toasts quickly, so your bread doesn't dry out before reaching your desired shade. It toasts the surface of each slice very evenly, but one side comes out darker than the other, and you get different results depending on which slot you toast in. If you like your toast on the charred side, you'll have to run a second cycle, since it toasts very lightly.
Toasts quickly, without drying out your food.
Toasts the surface of each slice evenly.
Toasts one side darker than the other.
Inconsistent performance between slots.
Toasts lightly.
The Cuisinart CPT-640 delivers excellent bagel performance. Using the 'Bagel' setting turns off one set of burners, so your bagel toasts on the cut side while staying soft on the top and bottom. It toasts very evenly and pops your bagel back up quickly, before it dries out too much. However, it also toasts very lightly, so you have to toast your bagel twice if you like a dark brown or charred bagel.
Toasts quickly, without drying out your food.
Toasts the bagel's surface evenly.
Includes one-sided toasting.
Inconsistent performance between slots.
Toasts lightly.
The Cuisinart CPT-640 is bad at catching crumbs. It's equipped with two removable crumb trays, one for each set of slots, but lots of crumbs, seeds, and grains fall past them onto the counter. If the mess bothers you, you'll have to clean up every time you make toast.
Requires you to clean the countertop after each use.
The Cuisinart CPT-640 is pretty bulky, which makes sense given its 4-slot design. It takes up a lot of counter space, and while it fits into the average cupboard, it's a tight squeeze.
Bulky design.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Jul 13, 2026:
We've updated the text in this review to match Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Jul 13, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.2, which adds three new test boxes: Size, One-Sided Toasting, and Moisture Retention. We also updated the Usage and Performance Usages at the top of the review to reflect the new tests and provide clearer buying guidance for users. You can read more in the Changelog.
- Updated Apr 24, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.1, which includes several new tests, including Capacity, Features, Crumb Management, and Toasting Speed. You can read more in the Changelog.
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
We linked the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic in the Toasting Range box for users who want a toaster with a wider toasting range.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Cuisinart CPT 640 (4 Slice Custom Select Toaster) comes in one stainless steel variant. You can see the label for the unit we tested.
If you encounter another variant, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Toaster Comparisons
The Cuisinart CPT 640 (4 Slice Custom Select Toaster) is a 4-slot toaster with settings for several types of foods, including bread, pastries, and waffles. These options make it a convenient choice if you regularly use your toaster for a variety of baked goods, including bagels. Like the Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster, this model offers one-sided toasting, so you can brown the cut side of a bagel without toasting the other side. Unfortunately, it toasts very lightly compared to other toasters, a trait we've seen in other models from the brand. While the Cuisinart 4 Slice Compact CPT-142 can't char sandwich bread in a single cycle, both this toaster and the Cuisinart Custom Select 4-Slice RBT-1350PC also struggle to make dark brown toast. As a result, it'll take more than one cycle to adequately toast bread that needs more time, such as denser multigrain or rye bread. Having said that, it doesn't take long for your toast to reach a golden-brown color, which helps ensure your bread doesn't dry out, and means you can run two cycles fairly quickly.
If you're still looking for a toaster, check out our recommendations for the best 2-slice toasters, the best 4-slice toasters, and the best toasters.
The Breville the 'A Bit More' 4 Slice is a better toaster than the Cuisinart 4 Slice Custom Select CPT-640. Although the Cuisinart toasts the bread's surface more evenly, it leaves one side much darker than the other, and performance varies greatly depending on which slot you use. The Breville offers more capacity thanks to its long-slot design, so you can toast items that won't fit in the Cuisinart, like longer slices of bakery bread. It also includes a couple of features the Cuisinart lacks, like a cycle countdown indicator, an option to raise the slots mid-cycle to check progress, and the 'A Bit More' button, which adds a little more toasting time. The Breville also does a better job of containing crumbs, keeping your counter tidier.
Test Results
Unlike most toasters, the shade selector sliders don't let you select half settings. For example, you have seven distinct settings but can't set the selector between settings 3 and 4. However, it has a variety of settings for different kinds of baked goods. The 'Bagel' setting turns down the elements on one side to avoid burning the bottom of your bagel, and the 'Defrost' (Frozen) setting is meant to warm frozen items like waffles gently before toasting. It has presets for bread, waffles, pastry, and English muffins. There's also a 'Single' button for when you're only toasting one slice of bread.
This toaster toasts very lightly. If you want a toaster that can produce darker toast, check out the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic, which can brown denser breads in a single cycle.