Over on our YouTube channel and in our On Demand bread classes (like this Intermediate Sourdough class), Martin Philip makes some of the most beautiful breads you’ll see on the internet, from open-crumbed baguettes to gorgeous chocolate sourdough. But it’s not only those loaves that stop me in my tracks when I watch his videos. It’s a simple, everyday tool: his offset bread knife.
My favorite shot in these videos comes when he smoothly slices into his fresh bread, cutting through the crust with ease and revealing a gorgeous interior. I have a great bread knife, a Spanish-made beauty my mother gifted me. But it doesn’t cut bread like that.
So what’s the secret? It’s all about the offset blade and lifted handle, which enables Martin to cut through the entirety of the loaf without having the handle (or his hands!) run into the cutting board. “When I’m cutting large hearth-baked loaves, I have an easy time getting through the top crust, but when my knife gets close to the cutting surface, my hand or knuckles won’t fit under the knife handle to cut all the way through the loaf,” explains Martin. “While I can lift the loaf off the cutting board, that method means that I lose the stabilizing surface contact. But, with an offset knife, my hand has room to continue working without lifting the loaf.”
It’s a proven design: Martin notes that this is the style of bread knife that many professional bakers use in their kitchens. “For the most part, I think that other bakers have a similar approach — so much so that we simply call the curved-blade serrated or offset serrated knives a ‘bread knife.’”
The bread knife we sell has a long high-carbon steel blade — 9" — so it can slice even the largest miche; its rosewood handle makes cutting smooth and comfortable, too. And I’m not the only one who’s been entranced; Jill from South Dakota recently wrote in a product review, “No more jealously watching videos of knives slicing thru fresh bread. Now I can do it too!” She added: “I’m 72 and have a drawer full of ‘bread knives.’ But this is the first one that really works!” I can totally relate, Jill. Other five-star reviewers (over 400 of them!) have shared “It’s easily the best bread knife I've ever handled” and that it “cuts through bread like butter.”
Martin also notes that the bread knife that we sell is manufactured just over the border from Vermont in Massachusetts. “That, plus the design and nice wooden handle, make this tool a no-brainer for me.”
A good knife lasts a long time and makes a great gift. But just remember! If you gift a knife, you're supposed to tape a coin to it so you don't "cut" the connection between gifter and recipient. Superstitious? Sure, but you don’t want to risk it, especially if you want the recipient to share all the great bread they’re bound to be inspired to bake.
Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
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