Bread toaster

A bread toaster comprising a comparator circuit with a sensor responsive to infrared radiation to determine the toasting time of an object to be toasted is extended by a control circuit. The latter detects automatically, whether the bread toaster is used for toasting an object to be toasted that is introduced through a loading and unloading opening into its toasting chamber (toasting operation) or for warming up a respective item which is placed on top of the loading and unloading opening (warming-up operation). The control circuit controls during the toasting operation the operating time of the bread toaster in dependence upon the toasting degree adjusted by the user, while it puts the bread toaster into operation for a fixed period of time during the warming-up operation.