I bought the Breville Panini Press to replace my toaster and to use as a toasted sandwich maker.
The old toaster was difficult to clean and only toasted sliced loaves well. Anu other kind of bread was not successful. As I use Gluten Free bread that is often fragile and breaks up if toasted vertically,the toast was very difficult to extract, leading to toast being charred or bits being left in and going on fire!
This product is great for use with Gluten Free bread as it toasts horizontally and any depth of bread can be used. The toasted sandwiches are brilliant and it is so easy to clean crumbs, melted cheese or fat deposits off with a swift wipe with a piece of kitchen roll on removal of your sandwich ........all it need to keep it pristine.
The only criticism is that, as the plates are heavy, if using simply to toast bread it gets pretty squashed. However any kind of bread, bagels, sliced loaves or ciabatta etc.all get toasted to perfection, nice and crispy if somehwat flatter than form a conventional toaster. This is a small price to pay for it's versitility!