A few weeks ago, I received New West KnifeWorks' newest knife, the Super Bread. My reaction when I first saw it; was that the design is really awesome. The knife has amazing aesthetic appeal. It's the first time I've ever seen a design like this for a bread knife. Generally, they are much shorter and lighter than chefs' knives. The blade usually also has small serrated teeth but the Super Bread has a wavy-shaped blade and dimples like a Santoku knife.

Pandan and coconut brioche

click on the pictures for the recipe

The main criterion for judging a bread knife is simple: can it slice a loaf of bread without shredding or flattening the bread? In short, I was truly happy with it. It slices delicate baked goods such as brioche without flattening them. It cuts sandwich loaves and crusty bread such as baguettes with aplomb. I also tested the knife on a loaf of raisin cinnamon bread from a local bakery. I asked the bakery not to slice the bread because I wanted to cut it myself. Raisin loaf has gaps on the inside of the bread where the nuts and raisins were rolled in, so if you don't use a sharp bread knife, you're going to squash it. As you can see from the picture, the knife cut the bread like a machine.

The Super Bread Knife doesn't look like any bread knife you've ever seen. Since it's not serrated but instead has an undulating edge, I bet it can be used in a broader set of applications than a traditional bread knife. I tried it on tomatoes, and it worked well. In summary, the New West Knifeworks Super Bread knife sports an innovative design that not only looks good, but works well too. It's the best bread knife I've ever used, and it would make a fine addition to your knife set.

Check out today's recipe, it's a croque-madame sammy! Click on the photo to get the recipe.