All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It’s fair to say that a bread knife, even a great one, is a fairly specialized tool. Bread knives aren’t nearly as versatile as chef’s knives—you won’t use them to chop, dice, or mince—but there are a few tasks you’d never want to use anything else for (which is why we consider them one of three pieces of kitchen cutlery you absolutely need). There’s no better tool than a razor-sharp serrated knife for slicing bread, sandwiches, or tomatoes. If you don’t agree, just try cutting a fresh baguette without one.
But not every bread knife is up to the task of slicing crusty bread or delicate produce without ripping apart the soft interior. The best serrated knives tend to have slightly flexible stainless steel blades and are full tang, meaning the metal from the blade runs all the way through the handle. This gives them more balance and stability. Scroll down for our top picks and more on how we chose them.
Best bread knives overall: Mac Professional Series 10.5-inch Bread Knife
When the product reviewers at our sister site Epicurious put over a dozen popular serrated knives to the test, the Mac Professional bread knife impressed them the most. The Japanese brand also makes a chef’s knife and paring knife our staff loves, and this bread knife has a number of well-designed features that set it apart. First, the length of the blade is 10.5 inches (that’s about half an inch longer than most), and that means we were able to slice more in a single stroke with much less effort—a big plus with wider loaves of bread like focaccia. The blade is also significantly thinner than others, and it has a scalloped edge that makes clean slices through even the crustiest boules. While the thin blade makes the knife lighter, testers noted that the light weight doesn’t compromise the knife’s sturdiness. Bon Appétit food director Chris Morocco says the Mac Proprofessional feels unbreakable and incredible to use: “Some bread knives feel about as refined as a buzz saw, but this one is like a bread scalpel. Does that sound weird? Well, it won’t when you slice through your what-are-they-trying-to-prove-to-the-world-with-this-crust sourdough.”
The gentle curve in the blade is perhaps the knife’s most notable detail. In testing, this curve gave a bit of extra leverage when dealing with tough patches of crust on the bottom of a loaf of bread. The biggest drawback of this knife is its hefty price tag—and as with any expensive serrated knife, you’ll want to get it professionally sharpened (more on that below). It’s an investment, but if it fits within your budget, we think it’s a good one.
Specs
Knife length: 15.4”
Blade length: 10.5”
Weight: 6.6 ounces
An innovative and extra sharp bread knife: Wusthof Classic 9-inch Double Serrated Bread Knife
This German-made knife is another pricey blade, but it makes the list here because of its interesting and super effective design. While this one has a 9-inch blade (an inch and a half shorter than the Mac Pro), it’s double serrated, which means it has mini teeth within the larger, scalloped serrations. All those extra sharp points give it better grip on waxy surfaces like the exterior of a tomato and makes for fast, easy slicing. It’s also a knife that asks very little of you—during testing, the double set of serrations cut through hard crust with very little exertion from the tester and produced such thin slices of tomato that we could see right through them. Chris says this knife is nearly indestructible, and senior commerce editor Noah Kaufman calls it a dream to use. One final advantage of a double serrated blade: because there are more of them, each individual serration will wear less, so the knife stays sharper for longer. Do note: though the double serrated knife is part of the Wusthof Classic series (defined by the shape of the handle and the bolster, as well as the hardness of the steel), this is not the bread knife that you’ll get if you buy the Classic knife set. That one has a more typical, single serrated design.
Specs
Knife length: 13.4”
Blade length: 9”
Weight: 6.4 ounces
A shorter, easy to handle bread knife: Hedley & Bennett 8½-inch bread knife
While we do like long blades for their ability to slice more in a single stroke, we appreciate that shorter blades can be easier to handle. Senior test kitchen editor (and Bon Appétit’s resident baking expert) Shilpa Uskokovic loves this bread knife from Hedley & Bennett, because it’s sleek and deceptively light. While it has a humble 8.5-inch blade, the shortest blade on this list, its angled, serrated edge becomes more pointed at the tip, making it easier to maneuver and offering heightened precision for more fragile slicing tasks. “The construction makes it feel sturdy but nimble enough to tackle a range of things from crusty loaves to delicate layer cakes.” says Shilpa. “It also makes it both comfortable to hold and easy to clean.”
While the shorter blade can be seen as a disadvantage in some cases (like when you’re slicing through a wide loaf of bread), we think this is a solid option if you’re mostly using your bread knife for smaller items or more delicate tasks where control matters, like cutting bagels or squishy fruit and slicing cakes into multiple layers. At $85, this bread knife is less expensive than the options above—and it comes in multiple colors.
Specs
Knife length: 13.5”
Blade length: 8.6”
Weight: 5.5 ounces
Best budget bread knife: Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch Wavy Edge Bread Knife
Premium bread knives have their perks, but a good one doesn’t have to break the bank. The Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch bread knife is less than $25, and it’s the one we use most frequently in the Bon Appétit test kitchen. It has deep, wide serrations, also known as a wavy edge, as opposed to the pointy teeth you see on the Wusthof or Hedley & Bennet. Instead of a wooden handle, like the rest of this list, the ergonomic handle of the Mercer is made from a combination of rubber and plastic, and while this knife isn’t full-tang (no knife at this price is), it still feels stable and comfortable to hold. Our editors have used this knife for every slicing task you can imagine: crusty bread, pineapple, ripe tomatoes, over-stuffed BLTs—and it always gets the job done. This knife won’t slice through tough crust as seamlessly as more expensive knives will, so it’s going to take a little more elbow grease on your part, but it’s a more than serviceable knife and our favorite inexpensive option. “One of these bread knives came in the kit bag I got in culinary school, and I am still using it today,” says Chris. “It won't split atoms, but it is dependable, and for this price you will love it all the more.”
Specs
Knife length: 15.5
Blade length: 10”
Weight: 5.9 ounces
How we chose the best bread knives
Between the editors in our test kitchen and the product reviewers over at Epicurious, we tested 16 bread knives on crusty sourdough bread and winter vine tomatoes, and as part of regular recipe development and home use. The ones we picked here were the most stable and comfortable to hold, the easiest to work with, and they made the cleanest slices.
How do I keep my bread knife in prime slicing condition?
Like all kitchen knives, you should only hand wash your bread knives—even if a knife is advertised as dishwasher safe, the dishwasher can warp or damage the blades. But in better news, good bread knives stay sharp for much longer than paring knives and chef’s knives. Most of them will continue to slice effectively even after several years of regular use. When your bread knife does eventually become dull, you’ve got two options: replace it, or take it to a professional sharpening service. We really, really don’t recommend home cooks try to sharpen serrated knives themselves. As Chris says, “while bread knives can be sharpened, you need a special knife sharpener that most of us don’t have at home.” If you try to use a regular knife sharpener on a serrated blade, you’ll wreck it.
We don’t love the idea that a knife is “disposable,” but if you went the budget route you’ll be better off replacing it than servicing it. Sharpening may cost just as much as a brand new blade. But if you’ve invested in a more expensive, premium option, like the Mac Professional or the Wusthof, you’ll want to send it to a specialist to get professionally sharpened. If you don’t have someone near you that you trust, consider a mail-away service like Knife Aid.
