How to slice bread perfectly

Slicing bread may seem like an easy task , but there a few tricks to get it just right . This article will show you different ways of slicing bread .

You might think you already know how to cut bread . But what if you’ve been doing it wrong this entire time ?

If you’ve ever had trouble cutting a fresh loaf of French bread you just bought (or just made) , you’re not alone. Even with a serrated knife, sometimes the knife slices but still smashes all the soft surface. You might get the job done but end up with sad, squished slices.

One way to keep your bread from being chopped is : Flip the loaf upside down !

Whether you’re talking baguettes , potato bread , challah or more , this tip should work with any bread you buy or bake .

Just five steps to teach you how to cut bread

Step 1

Place your loaf of bread on a large, wooden cutting board.

The board should be a little longer than the loaf of bread itself. This way, you will have enough room for the slices as you cut them. Position the loaf towards one end of the board. You’ll start cutting from the side that has the most board space available.

Step 2

Consider slicing large, round loaves in half.

If you have a really large loaf of bread, you might find it easier to work with if slice it right down the middle. This way, you’ll end up with two semi-circles. When you go to slice these halves, place the halves cut-side-down on the board .

Step 3 

Place your hand over the crust and gently grip the loaf by the sides.

This will keep it from slipping around on the cutting board. Avoid pressing down on top of the loaf. This will only mush the bread inside.

Step 4

Go into the crust at a slight angle.

Position your knife close to the heel of the loaf. Angle it slightly and saw into the bread .

Step 5

Saw downwards once the knife pierces the crust.

As soon as the knife gets into the bread , position the knife so that the blade edge is parallel to the cutting board . Use a back and forth sawing motion as you cut downward . Apply only a little bit of pressure ; if you have a good knife , you won’t have to press hard at all .

You can make the slices as thin or as thick as you want them . A good guideline is ½ to 1 inch (1.27 to 2.54 centimeters) thick .

You can also use the width of your finger as a cutting guide .

Cutting bread also has some safety hazards. We need to know how to not cut ourselves.

There is no more important rule when cutting anything than paying attention , but this is doubled when working with sourdough and crusty breads. Your injury will happen when you are distracted , and it will be a painful lesson to learn . It takes less than a minute to slice however much bread you need at any given moment: Take a breath, focus, and do it safely.

1. Use the right knife.

A serrated blade is the only blade to use on any bread, but hard-crusted breads in particular. You need the teeth to grab the crust securely to prevent knife slippage.

• Cut on a stable surface.

Cutting boards sliding about can create potential danger, so be sure to secure them properly. This is true of any cutting, but especially true for breads. Take a paper towel or thin tea towel and dampen it with water, then lay it between your counter and your cutting board to create a no-skid surface to keep your board from moving around.

• Always try to cut through the bottom crust on the perpendicular.

This is not intuitive, so bear with me. Your bottom crust will almost always be tougher and thicker than the top crust. This is why, when you slice from the top of the loaf downwards, it can feel like you are just sawing away trying to get through your bottom crust. This difficulty makes things especially risky for your delicate digits! Here’s a step-by-step.

1. Start by standing your boule or bâtard on its side

2. Slice down through the middle to create two halves of bread. This allows your knife to go through the bottom crust much easier.

3. Place the new flat-cut edges of your bread on the cutting board for stability, and slice straight down from the heel side to the flat cut side into slices, making it much easier to get through.

Does this mean you will always have slices that are sort of half-moon shapes instead of whole slices? Yep. But think about it this way… isn’t it better to have toast and sandwiches pre-done in halves and have all of your fingers intact with which to pick them up? If you must make whole slices, start your cut carefully, and once your blade is about an inch embedded in the loaf, take your holder hand and lay it flat across the top of the loaf and blade. Hold firm as you continue to slice, protecting your fingers from getting in the way.

Finally we need a good bread knife

Shun Knife Shun Premier Grey 9″ Bread Knife

Features

VG-MAX steel core, Damascus clad with 34 micro-layers on each side of SUS410/SUS431 stainless steel; full tang

Hammered Tsuchime finish helps release the food from the blade easily when slicing

60-61 Rockwell Hardness; hand-sharpened Japanese double-bevel blade angle 16° on each side

Contoured grey PakkaWood handle accommodates right and left-handed users

Handcrafted in Seki, Japan with a limited lifetime warranty; hand wash with gentle dish soap

Description

The Shun Premier Grey Bread Knife will be one of the most-used knives in your kitchen, if you bake or buy whole loaves of bread. Whether you love wonderfully crusty or delicately tender bread, the Shun Premier Bread Knife will be your loaf’s new best friend, no matter what texture of bread. The key is Shun’s razor-sharp, wide, “low frequency” serrations. Unlike a plain-edged knife, the serrations let you gently saw through the bread without crushing and with much less crumbing. Unlike saw-tooth serrations that are spaced closer together, the Shun Premier Bread Knife’s wide serrations will gently glide through the bread without tearing. This keeps the bread’s texture intact and enhances eating pleasure. Cakes and pastries also benefit from the Shun Premier Bread Knife’s smooth cutting capabilities.

The Shun Premier Grey line calls to mind as the hand-forged knives of ancient Japan. While each knife still takes at least 100 handcrafted steps to complete, the materials Shun uses are among the most advanced in the industry. Each blade has a cutting core of Shun’s proprietary VG-MAX “super steel” to take and hold a precision edge. The layered Damascus cladding supports the core and provides additional stain resistance. Near the edge of the blade where the steels meet, an undulating line is formed, similar to samurai swords using a traditional clay-baking technique. The hammered tsuchime finish acts like a series of hollow-ground cavities to reduce drag. The grey PakkaWood handles nestle comfortably in the hand, while the embossed end cap adds balance and beauty. Handcrafted in Seki, Japan with a limited lifetime warranty.

Why choose YIERCITY

We do professional knife set retail and wholesale business. We hope to be your stable global supporter and partner.

We are an enterprise integrating factory and trade, specializing in the design, manufacture and sales of high-quality knife sets.

We always make every effort to ensure the quality of each set of knives.

Why choose YIER Knives

● The complete knife set contains all kitchen knives.

● Delivery from the local warehouse, within 3 days.

● Manufactured in our own factory, cost-effective.

● Transparent acrylic knife holder, like a work of art

● Excellent materials, safe and durable.

● Free returns

● We listen to customer needs and feedback.