Slicing Bread

[Tilly2]

Is there a technique for slicing bread properly?. My slices always end up wedge shaped.

[Svejk]

get a man to do it.

[rockyracoon]

I always slice it with the loaf laying on it's side, seems easier somehow.

[ummmm]

Buy a better bread knife.

[Mosaic]

A good bread knife, a firm grip without squeezing, and as with sawing, cutting paper or cutting cloth keep your eye on the line you want the blade to follow, not on the blade itself.

[murraymints]

Put your specs on !

[Tilly2]

I have a very sharp Sabatier bread knife, ummmm. I still make a mess though.

[bhg481]

Electric knives are good for cutting bread - you don't move the knife backwards and forwards so you can concentrate on keeping the cut straight.

[jomifl]

Is that wedge shaped top to bottom of wedge shaped side to side? the former may be due to a knife with an assymetrical cutting edge.

[Old_Geezer]

It can be difficult especially with a fresh floppy loaf. It can help to turn the loaf as you cut since then you can get the edges more or less the same depth, but you need to keep the blade in contact with the cut along the whole length as you do so, or you risk getting second thin slices when the knives opts to cut slightly differently the next time it tries. I haven''t come across a perfect solution for a flexible loaf though.

[vulcan42]

Tilly2, are you left handed? perhaps you need this.
http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/acatalog/bread_knife.html

[Tilly2]

The slices start off medium at the top but by the time I've got to the bottom, they're thick.

[1ozzy]

There is a technique for everything.
When I can't get things right someone always tells me.
"It's how you hold your tongue".
:-)

[Tilly2]

Not left handed, by the way.

[Old_Geezer]

I have sometimes pondered as to whether one of those meat slicing gadgets would work on bread too. Would make things much more simple, if there was the room in the kitchen. My suspicion though is that the manufacturers would claim it was ok but the results might not be acceptable.

[Tilly2]

I only buy bread on Saturday as we don't eat that much. It's not worth buying a special gadget for cutting it.

My dad used to stand the bread on one end and slice across the top. The slices were always uniform. I can't do that.

[woofgang]

on of these?
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[EDDIE51]

It is because you are not cutting straight down vertically but at a slight angle. You need to hold the knife exactly vertical with the loaf flat and watch the cut as you go so that you can correct it as you cut.
Our supermarkets and the local bakers all have bread cutting machines and they will cut any loaf they sell free.

[kvalidir]

I slice bread sideways too like rocky, my brother who is a chef showed me and it is much easier. Also use a wavy bread knife not a simple serrated one, they seem to cut much better for some reason.
My mother slices bread and it looks like a massacre has taken place, she's left handed and sort of hugs it in her arms and slices towards her- she'll kill herself one day.

[Tilly2]

The baker that I get the bread from doesn't have a slicer. It's lovely bread though.

Woof, that bread slicing guide looks good. Thank you.