The right bread knife


The right bread knife
We almost all have a bread knife in our kitchen, that is to say the knife we use almost exclusively to cut bread.
Is this knife efficient, is it really the one you need? Here is some information to guide you in your choice.
12 K
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:KnifeBreadSizeBladeCuttingSaw
Last modified on: September 15th 2022
For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend
The right bread knife

découpe de pain

First of all a statement: It is not easy to cut bread with an ordinary kitchen knife, the blade is too small, it does not allow to cut a bread beyond a baguette, and its small handle does not ensure a good grip.
You really need a specific knife for that, and which has, if possible, the following characteristics.

couteau à génoise


1) A serrated blade
That is to say with teeth, we often say "saw knife", as opposed to a smooth blade, which allows an easier cutting of the bread.
You will sometimes read, here or there, that you should not "tear the bread crumb" with a serrated blade, but this is nonsense.

2) A long blade
This is the main defect of bad bread knives, their blade, although serrated, is not long enough to allow a good cutting. With a long blade, your gesture will be more ample, therefore easier, and the cut more regular.

3) A wide handle
It is absolutely necessary that you have a good grip on your knife, so that its handle is comfortable and well adapted to the size of your hand.

4) Practical materials
It is not an obligation, but your bread knife must be easy to use and maintain, which in my opinion implies both a stainless steel blade and an abs plastic handle or equivalent that does not fear water.

With all these criteria, it is quite simple to find the ideal knife, the choice is quite vast fortunately.

To make a long story short, the main defect you will encounter is a blade that is too short. I advise you to opt for a blade of 10 inches (25 cm) minimum.
You will easily find a lot of bread knives with a 8 inches (20 cm) blade, which certainly cut, but are much less efficient than a 25 cm blade.

taille des lames des couteaux à pains



The trick I suggest is to look for, or go to a professional store, and choose what they call a "sponge knife", which is a saw knife with all the criteria we just mentioned and a 11 inches (28 cm) blade.
You will be delighted with its efficiency, to easily cut from the smallest to the largest loaf, and to make even slices.
The next time you go to your bakery, look at the knife that the sales team uses to cut the bread for the customers, it is exactly this model.

To sum up: For your bread knife, you need a stainless, long (10 inches (25 cm) minimum) and serrated blade.

Lasts posts
The other use for bowl scraper
The other use for bowl scraper
Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9th 20261,030
The strange foam of potatoes in milk
The strange foam of potatoes in milk
As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26th 20261,123
A little leftover butter
A little leftover butter
Very often when you're making a cake, your recipe will tell you to melt some butter and mix it into the batter - a classic for cookies, cakes, moelleux and the like. And every time you do this, you'll have to butter the baking tin to prevent the dough from sticking during baking. Naturally,...
April 16th 20261,1935
A tablet holder
A tablet holder
Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.
March 14th 20261,9455
Pre-calibrated pastry dough
Pre-calibrated pastry dough
When making pie dough (shortbread, shortcrust, sweet...), it's always a good idea to make a lot at once, and then divide it into pieces, which you can freeze. I've already pointed out the mistake not to make, which is to form a ball before freezing. It's difficult to roll out afterwards because...
March 9th 20261,6975

Other pages you may also like
The ideal restaurant
The ideal restaurant
Like all passionate cooks (I suppose), from time to time I dream of opening my own restaurant. I imagine loads of things: it will be like this or like that, we'll do this, I'll cook that, the room will have this or that – in short, I dream.
October 15th 201217 K4.4
Foie gras service
Foie gras service
For the upcoming christmas meals you too may be sacrificing to the tradition of foie gras? If so, I suggest you take a look at everything that revolves around serving foie gras: how to serve it, and what to eat and drink with it.
December 23th 201717 K4.9
The "pith" of the cauliflower
The "pith" of the cauliflower
When using cauliflower in a recipe, there is a lot of preparation work at the beginning: removing the leaves, taking the tops or florets, etc. It's a bit tedious, but in the end you're left with the best of the cauliflower, ready to be used in your recipe.
February 5th 202215 K4.9
Parmesan cheese crusts
Parmesan cheese crusts
If you use Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) in your recipes, you may have already noticed: when you grate it, it becomes (very) difficult near the crust, especially if it is a slightly aged parmesan, as the cheese gets harder and harder. So we stop grating, leaving some crust on top, and a...
September 14th 202218 K4.9
Tranché, dissociated, failed, in short... missed!
Tranché, dissociated, failed, in short... missed!
When preparing a sauce or a cream, there's always a (small) risk that the creamy preparation you're working on will suddenly separate into two parts of different textures: a liquid part, for example, and a more or less solid part, or even become lumpy. It's terribly frustrating, but we'll see...
June 19th 202315 K5
Post a comment or question
Posted by
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page

Receive an e-mail as soon as this page is modified or receives a new comment.

I am not a leaving thing
We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page