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Having the interior of your bread shredded, leaving crumbs can be really frustrating. Using a non-specialized knife can give very rough cuts, hence the need for a bread knife. With this type of knife, you can cut through bread with much ease and no hassle. A good bread knife is a must have for every kitchen and knife set. In this article, we will review the top options on the market and help you identify the best bread knife.
Contents
- Quick Overview (comparison)
- Top 10 Best bread knife
- 1 – Mac Knife Superior Bread Knife (Best Pick 🥇)
- 2 – Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged 8 inch Bread Knife
- 3 – Tojiro Bread Slicer 270mm F-687
- 4 – Wusthof Classic High Carbon Stainless Steel Bread Knife
- 5 – Victorinox Fibrox Pro Curved Bread Knife with Serrated Edge-FFP
- 6 – Miyabi Kaizen Bread Knife
- 7 – Shun Classic Bread Knife
- 8 – Saken Bread Knife
- 9 – Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition High-Carbon Blade Serrated Bread Knife
- 10 – HENCKELS ZWILLING Pro Ultimate Bread Knife
- Buying Guide For The Best Bread Knife
- Advantages Of A Bread Knife
- Disadvantages Of A Bread Knife
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Final Verdict
Quick Overview (comparison)
Top 10 Best bread knife
Bearing in mind the difficulty that comes with choosing the right option from the several bread knives on the market, our team of experts went on to test many of them. After a thorough testing process, they identified the following ten products as the top on the market.
1 – Mac Knife Superior Bread Knife (Best Pick 🥇)
With this knife, you can forget about your bread shredding apart with the integrated 2mm serrated blade. This is because it cuts bread and roasts without any constraint at all. Thanks to the blade’s length, you get to cut through thin slices with just little effort. Made from high carbon, this blade boasts of razor-like edges to ensure effortless slicing. Not only that, but it is also rust-resistant and hard, thus staying sharp longer.
Moreover, this 10.5-inch bread knife is lightweight to complement the Pakkawood handle. This handle stays comfortably in the hand and offers a nice balance that ensures clean cuts just like you want them.
Meanwhile, this knife requires continued and attentive maintenance to keep it in the best shape possible for efficient performance. This tool is not one that you leave carelessly in the sink after use but you should it wipe it clean and dry carefully after each use. In addition, you shouldn’t wash this product with a dishwasher to prolong its life but only wash with your hands.
Key Features
- High carbon steel blade
- Serrated edge
- Pakkawood handle
- Rust-resistant
Pros
- Very sharp
- Rust-resistant
- Nice balance
- Keeps edges for a long period of time
Cons
- Doesn’t cut crusty bread well
2 – Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged 8 inch Bread Knife
This bread knife is another efficient tool that can be a great addition to your kitchen thanks to its great qualities. It features a blade made of high-carbon Japanese steel, thus assuring seamless blade maintenance as well as rapid sharpening to get a razor-sharp edge. Apart from that, this blade is also resistant to stain, rust, discoloration, and corrosion. Also, it is precision-made for durability and strength, thus ensuring long service and easy chopping and cutting.
Furthermore, this bread knife comes with a handle made from polypropylene to ensure durability and Santoprene for maximum comfort. This handle possesses textured finger points that deliver a better grip and slip resistance, thus ensuring better performance. Also, there’s an incorporated protective finger guard to ensure your fingers are protected always.
For continued excellent performance, you should only wash this 8-inch knife by hand and jettison a dishwasher to protect the blade surface and edge. You should carefully wash this tool with soap and water, and dry it with a clean, soft towel.
Key Features
- High-carbon steel blade
- Ergonomic handle
- Protective finger guard
Pros
- Blade is resistant to rust, corrosion, and stain
- Durable
- Comfortable to hold
- Very safe for fingers
Cons
- Requires regular sharpening
3 – Tojiro Bread Slicer 270mm F-687
If you’re looking for a knife that cuts through without deforming your bread, this product offers you a great option. With a 10.6-inch blade made of Molybdenum Vanadium Steel, it is quite sharp and slices through bread with ease. Also, the edge of the blade is serrated and helps to contribute to its assured performance. Hence, this blade guarantees valuable service.
Moreover, to ensure easy handling for convenient and comfortable use, the handle is made of reinforced, laminated black wood. This handle is crafted to sit comfortably in your hand so you can easily use it to get the desired cuts. Also, it guarantees safe use, ensuring that your fingers are protected from accidental cuts.
Like for most bread knives, it’s also recommended that you wash this knife only by hand with soap and water. You should not deploy a dishwasher for this tool’s maintenance so you don’t compromise the blade. This way, you can get to use your knife for a long period of time.
Key Features
- Vanadium steel blade
- Blackwood handle
Pros
- Blade is quite sharp
- Guarantees clean cuts
- Handle is comfortable to use
Cons
- Not ideal for left-handed users
4 – Wusthof Classic High Carbon Stainless Steel Bread Knife
Get all household cutting tasks done with this hardworking and effective bread knife. Made in Germany, this model is hand-forged by skilled craftsmen in 38 manufacturing steps for reliable performance. It features a blade made of high-carbon stainless steel that is hardened to ensure a sharp edge. This blade, with full tang, offers a great balance for easier use. Thanks to a state-of-the-art edge technology deployed in the manufacturing, this blade’s sharpness retention is excellent.
Furthermore, this 8-inch knife features a riveted, ergonomic high-impact handle to offer great balance. Robust and comfortable, this handle features durable, reliable rivets and no joints. Also, with a finger guard and full bolster, your hand is well protected, thus ensuring maximum safety during use.
In addition, this bread knife boasts of unique and stunning quality for extremely high cutting performance at all times. With a final polish from a special disc, this product is quite easy to maintain and sharpen.
Key Features
- High carbon stainless steel blade
- Serrated edge
- Full tang
- Ergonomic handle
Pros
- Maintains edge greatly
- Full tang and handle ensure a good balance
- Full bolster ensures safety
- Easy to maintain
Cons
- Expensive
5 – Victorinox Fibrox Pro Curved Bread Knife with Serrated Edge-FFP
This bread knife is an excellent kitchen tool that can cut a loaf of bread with the utmost ease. It features a lightweight, high-quality European steel blade that is very sharp and reduces hand fatigue, thus making it convenient for extended use. Also, this blade sports a serrated edge that allows you to slice through crispy bread, sandwiches, ripe tomatoes, delicate vegetables, and fruits without deforming their tender interiors. Apart from that, with its curvy shape, it allows you to conveniently slice with a rocking motion.
Bearing in mind that handling is very essential to the ease of use, the Fibrox handle is ergonomic, non-slip, and provides a convenient grip regardless of the size of your hand. It is designed to reduce wrist tension while ensuring a secure grip. As if that wasn’t enough, this handle is textured, thus making it feel secure even when wet or greasy. Hence, you get effortless and precise cuts at all times.
Keeping this 10.25-inch knife in the best condition is paramount to its consistency, hence the need to maintain it in the proper way. The manufacturer recommends that you wash it by hand only. Washing with a dishwasher can dull the tool’s edge, thus reducing its effectiveness. Therefore, you should ensure the edge is protected by washing it correctly.
Key Features
- Serrated edge
- Curved blade
- Ergonomic handle
Pros
- Cuts with ease
- Eliminates hand fatigue
- Safe to use
Cons
- Difficult to get a straight cut
6 – Miyabi Kaizen Bread Knife
This bread knife combines top hardening technology with the impressive artistry of Japanese craftsmanship. It sports a blade made of VG10 super steel for stunning performances and durability. A 64-layer flower Damascus pattern is present to protect the resilient core of this steel. Also, this blade promises durability and exceptional sharpness thanks to its innovative and ice-hardening treatment.
Moreover, this handcrafted knife is balanced by a D-shape handle made from black linen Micarta. Thanks to the wood-like texture, this handle is quite comfortable and won’t slip from the hand, even in wet conditions. With a comfortable handle, you’re able to get the cuts just like you desire them.
Despite not being the lightest knife out there, it is very sharp and perfectly balanced for excellent handling. It is recommended that this tool is properly maintained for the best results. It should only be washed by hand, not by a dishwasher.
Key Features
- VG10 super steel
- Wood-like handle
- 64-layer flower Damascus pattern
- Katana edge
Pros
- Durable
- Very sharp
- Doesn’t slip from hand
- Easy to maintain
Cons
- Expensive
7 – Shun Classic Bread Knife
Handcrafted by skilled specialists, this knife embodies high-quality delivery with ancient blades that combine with cutting-edge technology. With a blade made from VG-MAX steel, this tool provides optimal durability, sharpness, corrosion resistance, and strength. It features a Stainless Damascus Cladding that is made of 69 layers of stainless steel and provides support for the cutting core. Also, this knife sports an elegant, classic finish that makes it an exquisite part of your kitchen.
Furthermore, this 9-inch knife boasts of a beautiful D-shaped handle that comprises of ebony Pakkawood. This durable and water-resistant handle provides a convenient grip to maneuver the steel blade through any bread. With this handle, you cut with ease and no constraint.
In addition, this knife is tough enough for baguettes, rye, ciabatta, and sourdough while delicate enough for pastries, brioche, banana bread, pumpernickel, or challah. This functional tool makes slicing bread simple, easy, and hassle-free.
Key Features
- VG-MAX super steel
- Pakkawood handle
- 69 layers of stainless steel
Pros
- Beautiful design
- Very sharp
- Holds an edge for a long time
- Durable and water-resistant handle
Cons
- A bit expensive
8 – Saken Bread Knife
This knife will be a great addition to your kitchen if freshly baked bread is a staple food in your home. With a serrated edge, the incorporated thin blade slices through crusty bread, or banana bread without any crumbling or crushing. Not only that, but this long serrated tool also makes quick work of cutting roast beef sandwiches, rim cake domes, and baguette rounds for a crostini. With this knife, you can cut it all.
For the best of results, this 10-inch bread knife provides total control and comfort that you need in a perfect kitchen tool. With a perfect length of 10 inches, this product features a handle made of tough, wear-resistant material with a balanced grip. Sporting a full tang design, trust this tool to stay comfortably in your hand.
To ensure you have absolute confidence in this knife, the manufacturer offers a luxurious gift box and a warranty card. Hence, it can make a great gift for weddings, Christmas, birthday, fathers day, culinary students, mothers day, professional gourmet chef, home cook, and more.
Key Features
- Full tang design
- Serrated
- Wear-resistant handle
Pros
- Cuts perfectly
- Provides total control
- Durable handle
- Comes with a warranty card
Cons
- Handle is a bit short
9 – Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition High-Carbon Blade Serrated Bread Knife
If you’re looking for performance and style, you can get both in this serrated bread knife. This product adds that classic, attractive styling to your kitchen. It features a high-carbon stainless steel blade that resists stains, rust, and pitting. Not only that, but this blade also boasts of a 25° taper grind edge that delivers optimum sharpness as you want it. Hence, this tool is able to cut through any bread smoothly without constraint.
This 10-inch knife features a full metal tang and triple brass rivets to deliver great control, stability, and safe handling during food prep. With an attractive Walnut handle, this tool stays comfortable in your hand, thus ensuring ease of use at all times.
Meanwhile, the manufacturer recommends hand washing for this knife to maintain high-level performances which may be compromised by a dishwasher. Also, this product comes with a full lifetime warranty, making it a good value for your money.
Key Features
- High-carbon stainless steel blade
- Serrated edge
- Walnut handle
- Full metal tang
Pros
- Resists stains and rust
- Edge provides optimum sharpness
- Offers great control
- Comes with a lifetime warranty
Cons
- Requires frequent sharpening
10 – HENCKELS ZWILLING Pro Ultimate Bread Knife
This is another impressive product that caught the eyes during our research with its reliability and effectiveness. Forged from high-carbon stainless steel, the incorporated blade is designed with a broad curve in the front for a rocking motion while the straight back is suitable for chopping motion. Apart from that, this tool comes with scalloped serrations to maintain durable sharpness, minimize crumbs & tearing, and to ease cutting of bread. Also, the combination of the blade length and serration ensures maximum performance when dealing with large loaves.
Moreover, this 10-inch knife comes with a raised POM handle for easy slicing and knuckle clearance. Also, there’s a curved bolster present that allows cutting with precision, comfort, and safety. With the excellent grip this resilient and durable handle promises, you’re assured of great performance always.
Just like every other product on our list, this bread knife requires hand washing for proper maintenance. Washing with a dishwasher can damage the edges of your knife so it’s important to wash it correctly.
Key Features
- High-carbon stainless steel
- Scalloped serrations
- Curved bolster
- POM handle
Pros
- Maintains sharpness well
- Handle allows precision cutting
- Great edge retention
Cons
- Blade is a little bit too thin
Buying Guide For The Best Bread Knife
Bread knives abound on the market and each of them boasts of several features and functions. As a buyer, it can be very difficult to choose the best option from this sea of knives, hence the need to be armed with all the right information to make the right choice for your kitchen. With a buying guide, you have a valuable companion in your bid to purchase the best bread knife.
Factors To Consider Before Buying The Best Bread Knife
Before you can buy the best bread knife, you need to know all the factors to consider in order to make an informed choice. Therefore, our team of experts put together the most important features to look out for so as to help you make a top pick.
Types Of Serrations
The best bread knives boast of blades with serrations. There are two main types of blade edges for this category of knives: serrated and scalloped. Serrated blades cut through bread with a hard exterior easily without much pressure expended. The more the teeth there are, the smoother the cut will be. Therefore, it’s important that the ideal serrated blade has up to 33 – 41 teeth for great results.
On the other hand, a scalloped edge boasts of more rounded serrations and requires a bit more pressure while cutting compared to a serrated edge. The rounded points ensure that the crust is preserved and you get more consistent, cleaner cuts. Hence, there’ll be fewer crumbs on the floor of your kitchen. With a scalloped edge, you can easily cut through bread, vegetables, or fruits. Both types of edge are great, you should ensure you go for an option with a good number of serrations.
Blade Shape And Length
Another important factor to look out for is the shape of the blade. While some will be straight, others will be curved. With a curved blade, you get great knuckle clearance. Also, a curved blade allows you to see what you’re cutting clearly, thus giving you better control and resulting in lesser slicing mishaps. A straight edge, on the other hand, is just as good and also gives very smooth cuts but not in a rocking motion like the former.
In addition, the length of the blade should also be strongly considered because it also determines the ease of use. Most blades are about 7 – 10-inch long and normally, the lengthier the blade, the lesser times you will need to saw to complete a cut. With longer knives, the cutting of baguettes and artisan loaves is also easier.
Blade Material
The blade of bread knives is usually crafted from stainless steel, carbon steel, or high-carbon stainless steel. In a carbon steel blade, the major component is carbon, which helps it to stay sharp for a long time. But a carbon steel blade is not recommended to be washed with a dishwasher nor is it resistant to rust. On the other hand, stainless steel contains a high amount of chromium that goes ahead to form a layer on its top to keep it safe from corrosion. It also maintains its edge for a long time. However, this type of steel is not as tough and sharp as carbon steel as a result of a lower amount of carbon.
On its own part, high-carbon stainless steel combines the features of both stainless steel and carbon steel, making it quite the complete package. It lasts very long and is highly resistant to rust.
Handle
Comfort is everything and it’s important that you choose a knife that guarantees you this during use. A bread knife with a bad grip can be quite difficult to maneuver, thereby delivering poor results. Therefore, you should consider a bread knife with an ergonomic design that promises absolute convenience and comfort. Also, the material of the handle matters a lot. For instance, wood, a popular choice, offers a firm and comfortable grip while steel, another popular choice, also offers a great grip and will not break.
Advantages Of A Bread Knife
- Specializes in cutting bread far more efficiently
- Easier and faster to slice bread
- Helps to keep the integrity of the bread
- Helps to reduce shedding, thus reducing waste
- No special skill is required for cutting neat slices
- There’s less crumb waste and tearing when slicing because the crust of the bread remains
- There’s little strain on your wrists and hands when slicing
- Quite versatile too; helps with slicing tomatoes, hard vegetables, and delicate fruits.
Disadvantages Of A Bread Knife
- Its functions are minimized
- It can be hard to maintain
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The number one challenge when cutting bread is ensuring there’s less shedding in order to prevent waste. The best solution in this case is a specialized bread knife that is crafted to cut loaves of bread smoothly with much less tearing compared to a chef time. Therefore, you should use a bread knife with the right steel, serrations, length, and handle to ensure smooth and hassle-free cuts at all times.
Before a buyer chooses a certain product, the big question is always that, how can I go about choosing the right option. The case is not different when it comes to choosing a bread knife which can be quite challenging. But with all the right information in hand, you can seamlessly choose a model for your kitchen. In this article, we have prepared a comprehensive buying guide that can provide great help on your way to buying the best bread knife. By carefully going through it, you can arm yourself with the important information to help you choose an option.
Yes, you can, even though many consider it as difficult or impossible. There are three popular methods involved in sharpening bread knives: the ceramic sharpening rod, Spyderco Sharpmaker, and an electric sharpener. Many regard the ceramic sharpening rod as the best method there is because it allows sharpening tooth for tooth. Once the diameter of the rod matches your knife’s serrations, you’re good to go.
Spyderco Sharpmaker, on the other hand, is more favored for use at home. It also works well and delivers a razor-sharp finish. Also, the use of an electric sharpener can sharpen a bread knife but it grinds off its serrations, thereby causing it to lose them.
It’s simple. A non-specialized knife like chef’s knife or paring knife finds it quite difficult to cut bread without leaving crumbs or destroying the integrity of the bread. Bread knives are specially designed to ensure that bread is cut smoothly with less waste. Therefore, we use a different knife to cut bread because we want to get very smooth and perfect cuts.
Yes, you can sharpen serrated knives but you’ll spend sufficient time in doing so. A sharpening system can help a great deal by holding some ceramic rods in a 40° V-shape. You’ll need to keep your knife steady as the ceramic rod moves between each of the gullets. Due to the difficulty sharpening a serrated knife can pose, it may be better to seek the help of a professional because the best approach is to sharpen each serration separately which can be almost impossible for a layman.
Final Verdict
Every household that loves eating bread needs a perfect knife to help them with the cutting which can be messy with a chef’s knife. In this article, we have dissected at least ten of the top bread knives on the market and highlighted their key functions. They’re all crafted to give very smooth cuts but they’re not of the same quality, hence the need to use the right information to make the right choice. When in the market for the best bread knife, you should consider an option that has the right length, blade, and handle to get the best cuts.
David Clarke is one of the most active authors for KnivesExpert. He has been working as a professional chef for 8 years now. In his spare time he is always looking for new tastes which he can use in his restaurant. David is also a real knife enthousiast and he only wants to use the best of the best. The search for the best knife resulted in the start of Knivesexpert!