Bread knife

A bread knife is a long knife with a serrated edge, shaped like a row of small teeth. The blade is usually 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in). The teeth grip and saw through a hard crust before the soft crumb underneath can be squashed. It also cuts many other foods with a hard outside and a soft inside.

How to use it

1. Set the loaf on a board. Hold it lightly with your free hand, fingers well above the blade.
2. Start with the tip on the crust and draw the knife back toward you to make a small groove.
3. Saw with long, light strokes that use the full length of the blade. Let the teeth do the work.
4. Keep the blade straight up and down so the slices are even.

Other good jobs for it:

• Ripe tomatoes and peaches, where a smooth blade would slip on the skin.
• Cakes, to split a sponge into layers.
• Crusty sandwiches and baguettes for crostini.
• Large melons and pineapples, to take off the rind.

How to store it

Keep it in a block, on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard, not loose in a drawer. Serrated edges stay usable for a long time because the points do the cutting. They are hard to sharpen at home and are often best left to a professional with the right tools. A honing steel does little for them, unlike for a chef's knife.

Common mistakes

• Pressing down hard instead of sawing. It squashes soft bread and tears the crumb.
• Cutting bread right out of the oven. The inside is still setting and turns gummy. Let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour first.
• Using a short blade on a big round loaf. The tip disappears into the loaf and the cut wanders.
• Using it for fine chopping. Serrated edges tear herbs and vegetables instead of cutting them cleanly.

In recipes

"Using a serrated knife" in a recipe usually means a bread knife. Some recipes name a smaller serrated utility knife for tomatoes or citrus.