For Easily Sliceable Homemade Bread, Stop Making This Rookie Mistake

Few things in life are quite as enticing as freshly baked bread, but rush to enjoy it at your own peril. Unless you want to tear it apart bit by bit like you're in some Parisian riverside tableau, replete with a chunk of cheese and a jug of wine, let those lovely loaves cool before you begin slicing them down to size.

Fresh out of the oven, or even the bread makers of yore, those sandwich staples are simply too squishy to cleanly slide a knife through. Try to nab a piece too soon, and it comes out compressed at best. It probably won't taste right yet, either. You know the carryover cooking that might make you pull a steak from the heat to let it rest, even before it reaches its ideal temp? A similar principle applies to a lot of bread preparations that continue developing even after you remove them from the oven. Dig in prematurely, and what looks finished is likely still sticky inside. Between that, the aesthetic disappointment of a squished slice, and its somewhat diminished functionality, and you really should just wait until your bread has cooled to break out the knife. That little utensil can make a big difference, too.

There are dedicated types of knives for a reason, and bread knives are compulsory for anyone who makes the stuff from scratch. As anyone who's ever just grabbed whatever's handy can attest, other knives are just not as effective for cutting bread as this specific tool. A good bread knife should be long to accommodate swift motions and prevent unnecessary sawing that can create excessive crumbs or tears. It should also obviously be sharp for the same reasons, and it may as well be serrated for when you do need to break through a heartier crust, such as that of a sourdough.

It's also a good idea to use your bread knife strictly for bread, but it isn't the end of the world if someone in your household uses it for some unintended task. Should it begin to dull, you can sharpen a serrated knife without ruining the blade by patiently and carefully running a tapered honing rod all around each of its tiny teeth. Using the knife for its specified purpose, plus keeping it clean and dry, keeps you from having to do this too many times. Its all easier than resisting temptation and letting your bread cool before you slice it.