Automatic toaster apparatus as described including a displacing mechanism for displacing at least one of the heater plates, preferably both heater plates, towards and away from the food article in the toaster in order to accelerate the toasting thereof. According to another feature, particularly useful in apparatus for toasting bagels or other types of rolls having relatively hard crust layers on their outer surfaces, the toaster includes cutter blades for cutting through the roll before the roll is fed into the toasting unit. In the described embodiment, the cutter includes a pair of spaced cutter blades for cutting away the crust layer on the opposite faces of the roll before the roll is fed into the toaster unit.