Warning: Found out my bread knife was ruining my crust by pressing instead of sawing

Honestly I read a post from a baker in Portland who said most people wreck their crust by pushing down with a serrated knife instead of letting the teeth do the work. Tried it on my last sourdough loaf and the difference was night and day. No more squished crumb or torn edges. Has anyone else noticed a big change just from changing their cutting motion?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah3207d ago

Wait, did you change the angle of the blade or just the pressure? I'm wondering if tilting the knife a certain way helps more than just going lighter. Because I tried the lighter touch thing and it still mashed my crust a bit. Had to switch to a longer bread knife with wider serrations to really get it right. That cheap wavy blade was just too dull no matter what I did. You using a standard serrated or something with big teeth like a bread knife from the restaurant supply?

wendy8207d ago

Tilting the blade is honestly overrated, @hannah320 just get a sharper knife.

alicecraig7d ago

Wait, are you sure a sharper knife is the whole fix here? Tbh I think tilting the blade does make a real difference depending on what you're cutting. A sharper knife helps for sure but if you're slicing something with a hard crust and soft inside, that angle change stops you from squishing it against the cutting board. I've had cheap knives that were sharp enough but still mashed stuff because I held them wrong. Might be worth trying both instead of ditching the tilt idea completely.