Good Bread Knife

[rlf5]

Can anyone recommend a good bread knife? It seems my current one is only good enough to cut through sandwich bread. Thanks!

[asudavew]

Re: Good Bread Knife

Can anyone recommend a good bread knife? It seems my current one is only good enough to cut through sandwich bread. Thanks!

An electric fillet knife....

Walmart.

10-15 bucks.

Give it a try.

[CanuckJim]

Re: Good Bread Knife

RLF,

Funny you should ask. I've gone through several relatively cheap bread knives and found them way too flexible for hearth breads baked in a WFO. Got fed up and went looking on the net. Found PSS Enterprises - PaulsFinest.com. Paul not only knows knives extremely well, but he also bakes hearth breads. Good fit. He recommended the knife he uses, the 10" serrated Wusthof Gourmet Super Slicer (WUS-4517), even though it's not promoted as a bread knife as such. Started using it last week, and to say it works is an understatement. It has a great handle and superior balance. Thin slices, thick slices, they both can be cut straight to an even thickness with remarkably little pressure or effort. This is not a cheap knife ($80.95 CDN), but I think it's the last bread knife I'll ever buy. I'd already spent more than the price of it on cheaper knives that I've given away or put in a drawer somewhere.

Jim

[rlf5]

Re: Good Bread Knife

Thanks guys! The bending is the main problem with my current knife. I usually put my cut bread face side down on the cutting board to keep it fresh. This doesn't work as well as it should when you don't have a cut that waves. Also I had to saw pretty hard to get through the crust.

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Good Bread Knife

First, I love this forum because we get different opinions. I have always thought of forged knives as better than stamped knives, and I use a forged Henckel's and I love it, I checked Amazon and there are a bunch of different ones. I think mine was around $50.

The one that was recommended to Jim is a stamped knife. Perhaps it makes a thinner blade and is better for bread?

All that said, I recently bought a Calphalon Paring knife and utility knife set from Bed Bath and Beyond for like $29 and I am really happy with them, they are forged and good quality at a discount price. This is what I bought:
Bed Bath & Beyond Product

I see they have a bread knife set (one for bread and one for bagels) for $45:
Bed Bath & Beyond Product

I would also recommend a slotted bread cutting board like this one, it keeps my wife sane...

Amazon.com: Calphalon 18-by-9-by-3/4-Inch Breadboard with Aluminum Crumb Tray: Home & Garden

Drake

[james]

Re: Good Bread Knife

I have a nice forged bread knife in the Euro tradition. We got it years ago in Toledo (you know the inquisition, swords, and fine cutlery go together, but that's another story) and it has worked great. But it was going dull and I wasn't sure what to do. I stumbled across a Chef's Choice Diamond Home 430 -- and it actually works. It's a manual sharpener designed specifically with serrated knives. I would recommend it if you have a good quality, but dull, bread knife.

James

[CanuckJim]

Re: Good Bread Knife

Drake,

My new bread knife if fairly thin, but the good part is that it's very stiff, hence no deflection when cutting crusty bread. Like you, most of my knives (Sabatier, Henkels, L'Enfer) are forged and most are carbon steel. I think edge holding on straight edge knives is better with this combo, sharpening, too. I use a long, commercial diamond hone for touching up the edges. However, the Wusthof is stainless steel and works like a charm. Serrated knives are difficult to sharpen (I'm the resident sharpening guru for a local deer and moose hunting group, even though I don't hunt). Upside is, I get venison or moose meat occasionally in recognition of my efforts. I have a hone similar to the one James has for serrated blades, and it actually works.

Despite the recent, probably transitory strength of the Canadian dollar, the prices we pay for stuff like this is much higher than in the US. It's a sorry fact of Canadian life that's otherwise just fine (except the weather about now). My source for the bread knife is in Quebec, and it's probably quite possible to do better on price elsewhere. There's been much in the news from car manufacturers and such that prices will be lowered soon, but I'm not holding my breath. That's why many Canadians in border areas travel south to buy cars.

Jim

[james]

Re: Good Bread Knife

Will sharpen for moose.

[Inishta]

Re: Good Bread Knife

Until four years ago I always used good quality Sabatier knives that I have had for many years and then 'she who must be obeyed' bought me a block of Japanese Global knives. It totally changed my perception of what a knife should be. They are made from Cromova 18 stainless steel, have almost perfect balance and look beautiful too. I have both serrated and straight cut bread knives and sharpen with both a Shinkansen ceramic water sharpener and a recently purchased Global ceramic 'steel'. I have not attempted to sharpen the serrated one. These are not cheap knives but, as CanuckJim says, why keep spending money changing and struggling with knives not up to the job.

inishta