How to Slice Homemade Bread Evenly Without Crushing It

What you get and what it takes

The result is a loaf of slices with straight faces, an intact crumb and a similar thickness from end to end. It takes no special skill, but it does take time: the longest step is waiting for the loaf to cool. With a guide, the evenness comes from the frame; with a knife alone, it comes from repetition.

What you need

• A serrated bread knife of at least 9 inches. That is America's Test Kitchen's minimum, and its favorite is the Mercer Millennia 10-inch wide bread knife. The knife should also be longer than your loaf is wide.
• A stable board that does not slide on the counter.
• Optional: a slicing guide that fits your loaf, if you want every slice the same.
• A cooling rack – the loaf needs air on all sides while it cools.

According to Mercer, the M23210 has a 10-inch (25.4 cm) blade of high-carbon Japanese steel with a wavy edge whose teeth get through a tough crust, and a Santoprene and polypropylene handle. Mercer advises hand washing and does not recommend the dishwasher.

Step by step

1. Let the loaf cool completely

   King Arthur Baking's white sandwich bread recipe says to let the bread cool completely before slicing. America's Test Kitchen explains why: warm bread has a crisp crust but a gummy interior, and cooling gives the starches time to set. Slicing too early is the main reason for a torn, squashed slice like the one in the picture above.

2. Choose a long serrated knife

   Use a serrated knife at least 9 inches long. A short blade has to be pushed down instead of drawn through, and that is what crushes a soft crumb.

3. Set up a steady board and, if you like, a guide

   Lay the loaf on a board that does not move. If you use a guide, measure the loaf first: the Akebono PS-955, for example, takes loaves up to about 7.9 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide. A domed sandwich loaf can rise well above its pan, so measure the baked loaf, not the pan.

4. Saw with long, light strokes

   Start at the top crust and use the full length of the blade in long back-and-forth strokes. America's Test Kitchen advises letting the weight of the knife work and using minimal downward pressure. Pressing down is what flattens the loaf.

5. Finish through the bottom crust

   Keep sawing until the blade is through the bottom crust. If you push the last bit, the crust breaks off unevenly. Keep the fingers of your holding hand on top of the loaf and away from the blade.

6. Repeat at the same distance

   With a guide, move the loaf by one step and repeat. Without one, start each cut at the same distance from the cut face. Look at the first two slices and correct the angle before you slice the rest.

How to slice bread evenly every time

A knife alone gives even slices only with a steady hand. A slicing guide fixes the distance: the Akebono PS-955 has five steps from 10 to 30 mm (about 0.4 to 1.2 inch); budget plastic guides such as the Kiss Core slicing guide^* list adjustable width but no thickness steps. The guides are compared on the bread slicing guide page, and which thickness suits which bread is on slice thickness.

How to slice bread thin

Thin slices are where knives and guides reach their limit. The thinnest step of the Akebono guide is 10 mm (about 0.4 inch). For thinner sandwich slices, a hand-crank bread slicer sets its fence steplessly – the Zassenhaus Classic from 1 to 18 mm, according to Culinaris.

Typical mistakes

• Slicing while warm. The crumb is still setting; wait until the loaf is cool all the way through.
• Using a short or straight-edged knife. It has to be pushed instead of drawn, which crushes the crumb.
• Pressing down. Light strokes, no pressure – the teeth do the cutting.
• Using a guide that is too small. A loaf that is taller than the guide walls leaves the top crust unguided.
• Changing the angle mid-loaf. Slices get wedge-shaped; check the first two before you go on.

Safety

The blade is the only risk. Keep the holding hand on top of the loaf and away from the cutting line, and slow down at the last few slices, where the end piece is small. Wash the knife by hand, rinse it and dry it thoroughly, as Mercer advises – a knife hidden in a sink full of water is a hazard of its own.

Other loaves

Sourdough has a harder crust and a more open crumb; the technique differs in the details and is covered in how to slice sourdough, with the cooling question in when to cut sourdough. Tall, square loaves are covered in how to slice bread-machine bread. Knives for crusty loaves are compared in bread knife for sourdough.

When a slicer is worth it

If you bake several times a week, the time and evenness of a slicer add up. Which slicer fits which homemade loaf – a crank slicer for crusty rounds, a guide for pan loaves – is laid out in bread slicer for homemade bread. The whole range of devices is on the manual bread slicer overview.