The Secret to Perfectly Sliced Homemade Bread
I have to apologize to you in advance: I’m sorry I haven’t shared this tip for perfectly sliced homemade bread before now. It is so easy and results in such nice cuts that I should have written this tip years ago. Better late than never, though, so I’m mending my non-sharing ways and fully disclosing my secret today.
For many years, this is how I sliced my homemade bread – with a serrated bread knife. I know what you’re thinking looking at this photo – what’s the big deal? Looks good to me! And it is fine – it’s just not theĀ best. The crumb is rough, an edge is torn, and I struggled to get evenly sliced pieces.
Then I helped in the kitchen at my kid’s summer camp one year and they used this to cut all their bread:
Black & Decker Electric Knife on Amazon
And not just any bread, but warm, crusty bread – the kind that usually collapses into a smooshed mess if you try to cut it warm. Can I just say revelation? Our bread world was transformed. Well, at least the cutting part.
I pulled out my cheap, basic electric knifeĀ that I used once or twice a year (and that I actually bought originally to cut foam with, ha!) and tried it. Yes, it made cutting crusty artisan bread a breeze – warm or cool – and created slices of sandwich bread like this:
Smooth crumb and perfect edges, and an electric knife goes a long way to helping me cut even slices (though a bread slicing guide should probably be on my wish-list). Just in case you think I’m overstating my case for perfection, here are the slices side by side:
Ahh, now you see it, don’t you? Electric knife + homemade bread = perfect slices.
Now go pull out your electric knife (or put it on your wish list – the cheapest one is fine), make some easy bread and give it a try. I don’t think you’ll go back to a plain serrated knife, except when you’re too lazy to plug in the electric knife. Not that I ever am lazy like that.
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I’m new to sourdough bread making. My first 2 attempts were hard as a rock and were pitched. Yesterday turned out pretty good. The crust is really crusty. Is it supposed to be? Did you use your old electric knife or buy the one pictured. Also how can you slice the bread thin?
Thanks
I used the knife pictured, Nancy. With really hard crusts you’ll want to be careful with the electric knife as it can slide off easily. I usually start a cut with the tip of the knife before turning it on to slice. And you just practice making as thin slices as you can!
Thanks for the tip. Jamie. An electric knife can definitely improve the condition of the sliced bread, but it will never help my hopelessly crooked cutting skills. At least the slices won’t be shredded AND uneven. š
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What is the best breadboard to use to cut with an electric knife?
I use a wood board that is pretty thick and dedicated to bread, mostly (definitely nothing wet is cut on it). It does get lots of knife marks in it, so that’s why I only use it for bread. If figure when it gets too bad I’ll move to a new board, but I’ve actually been using the knife with it for more years than I can remember and it’s still good. š