What type of knife do you use to cut bread?

Author: Mr. Jordyn Ebert  |  Last update: Friday, June 6, 2025

There's no better tool than a razor-sharp serrated knife for slicing bread, sandwiches, or tomatoes. If you don't agree, just try cutting a fresh baguette without one.

What knife is best for cutting bread?

Serrated knives work for bread so well because their sawtooth edges cut through crusts with ease all while leaving the interior intact. Trying to cut through bread with a standard chef's knife or anything else with a single, flat blade will only result in a mangled, squished slice.

What is the name of the knife used to cut bread?

The bread saw knife, also known as a bread knife or bread cutter, is very useful for cutting this food into thin or thick slices. It is primarily characterized by its strong and long blade size with a wavy saw edge that allows you to cut without much effort or breaking the bread.

What's the difference between a serrated knife and a bread knife?

Pointed edge bread knives, which are often simply referred to as "serrated" knives, have sharp and aggressive teeth that are designed to pierce through the hard outer crust of breads using a saw-like motion.

What knives do bakers use?

serrated bread/cake knife

To be perfect for pastry it should be 10” or longer with smaller, more compact teeth that are great for cutting cake and soft bread. A bread knife with larger teeth that are more spread out is better for hard crust breads and might tear up a delicate cake.

Which Japanese Bread Knife do I Need?

What makes a knife a bread knife?

Bread knives are used for cutting bread and are one of many kitchen knives used by cooks. The serrated blades of bread knives are able to cut soft bread without crushing it.

Which type of knife is used to slice bread or cake?

Compared to a straight-edged chef's knife, the bread knife's serrated edge does a great job of cutting through items with thick skin (like tomatoes) or even delicate items like pastries and cakes.

What is the best length for a bread knife?

Blade length is also another important consideration to make when shopping for a bread knife, as longer, narrower blades will minimize the amount of cutting you'll need to do to create thin, even slices. However, the standard length of any bread knife is approximately 7 inches to 10 inches.

Why are bread knives so sharp?

Serrated knives are used instead of a straight edge knife, such as a chef's knife or santoku, as the serrated edge has a much better ability to bite into food that is either too hard (e.g. bread) or too soft (e.g. tomatoes) than a straight edged knife.

Can I use a utility knife to cut bread?

Every home cook will utilize a utility knife. The blade is generally 5 to 6 inches, which is shorter than the average bread knife, but the serrated utility knife is still a great choice for small loaves.

How to cut homemade bread?

Cut from the side rather than the top, on an angle, and saw with a sharp serrated bread knife. Some breads just can't be cut efficiently (such as a big soft puffy loaf of challah or sweet Portuguese bread), so we just go caveman, and rip off pieces with our hands.

What type of knife allows bread to be easily sliced?

Serrated Knife

A serrated knife, also known as a bread knife, easily cuts through foods with hard exteriors and soft interiors like bread, pastries, pineapples, or tomatoes. Serrated knives are known for their jagged or sawtooth-like blade edge that creates clean and even cuts without crushing delicate foods.

Why do we use a different knife to cut bread?

The key differentiator between standard chef knives and bread knives is the teeth that can be found on a bread knife. All bread knives use serrated blades. These sharp teeth run along the edge of the knife's blade, and allow it to gain traction and pierce the surface of the bread you're trying to cut.

What knife is best to cut bread and tomatoes?

The Best Serrated Knife for Slicing Bread and Tomatoes, Tested and Reviewed
  • Mac Professional Series 10½-inch Bread/Roast Slicer. $100. Amazon. $175. Mac Knife.
  • Wüsthof Classic 9-Inch Double-Serrated Bread Knife. $150. Amazon. $150. Williams Sonoma.
  • Dexter Russell Basics Scalloped Slicer. $21. Walmart.

Can you cut bread with a santoku knife?

The meaning of the word 'Santoku's clearly explains what it is best used for: the 'three virtues' or 'three uses' of chopping, dicing, and mincing. It handles all of these jobs in exemplary fashion but avoid chopping large meat bones, slicing bread and precision tasks (such as peeling).

Which type of knife would be most useful for slicing bread?

How does a serrated bread knife differ from a chef's knife? Bread knives are serrated because of how they're used to slice bread: in a sawing motion. This back-and-forth action combined with the jagged teeth of the bread knife pierces and slices through the bread's crusty exterior without smushing its soft interior.

Why do bread knives have two points?

Here are the two types of blades and which one to choose: A pointed blade: Commonly, the serration in bread knives are sharp and pointed, making the distinct feature unlike in most knives. This kind of blade also makes it easier to slice bread with hard shells.

Do serrated knives last longer?

One advantage of serrated knives is that they tend to stay sharp longer than straight-edged knives. However, that doesn't mean they never go blunt, and maintaining a sharp knife is still important.

Why do bread knives have prongs?

The teeth grip what you're cutting, causing the knife to slice through it rather than just tear parts of the bread off. Serrations also make it easier to get through a crusty loaf of bread or a crispy roast because the teeth bite into the outer layer rather than slipping on it.

What should your first cut be when cutting anything that is rounded?

Simply use a sharp chef's knife and proper knife hold to slice off a thin piece of the food. Turn the food over onto its flat side, and you now have a flat surface for safe slicing and dicing!

What is a cook's knife?

A chef's knife is among the most versatile knives in the kitchen and can be used for anything from chopping to cutting. Common uses for a chef's knife include cutting meat, dicing vegetables, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. The flat side of the knife can even be used to crush garlic.

How to keep homemade bread fresh?

Wrapping bread in foil works, too, as it is airtight. If you have round bread with a crispy crust like a sourdough boule, you don't have to wrap it at all. Put it cut-side down on a clean kitchen counter and let its thick crust protect the interior. It will dry out somewhat, but less than you may expect.

What knives should every kitchen have?

There are three primary knives that every home cook should have in their kitchen: a chef's knife, a serrated knife (also called a bread knife), and a paring knife.

Can I cut bread with an electric knife?

The fact is there is no reason not to use a Mighty Carver for cutting bread. The same advantages of using electric knives applies to bread cutting as well as meat or vegetable cutting. Here are a few of them from Best Reviews: A motor is used to provide power, which means less exertion for you.

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