7 ms·
I never got the point of pre-sliced bread. What's so hard about slicing bread yourself?
by ginko 4y ago
I never got the point of pre-sliced bread. What's so hard about slicing bread yourself?
- seattle_spring 4y agoI always freeze my bread, and frozen bread would be very frustrating to cut. Also... Why not?
- barbazoo 4y agoI find that it dries out and gets moldy quicker.
- thesandlord 4y agoIf you freeze it, that doesn't happen (can get freezer burn but that's a different issue). Freezing a uncut loaf makes it very difficult to consume.
- barbazoo 4y agoTrue, I do freeze toast but I would never do that to a nice loaf of sourdough for instance and then I wouldn't slice it usually, for the stated reasons.
- dzhiurgis 4y agoKeep it in a fridge even if it's a cardinal sin according to Vienna Convention
- barbazoo 4y agoToast maybe, not real bread :D
- wizofaus 4y agoMany would say the same of "pre-baked" bread.
- SketchySeaBeast 4y agoNothing really, but sliced breads mean I know how long it's going to last and I have consistent portions. I think this actually ends up being a good convenience.
- spoonjim 4y agoI don't ever get the slices even. They're thinner on one side etc. And why would I slice it myself if a machine can do it for me?
- Moru 4y agoA real bread keeps fresh longer if it's not cut. You cut what you want to eat, the rest you leave with the cut side facing down on the cutting board. It lasts longer if you put a paper bag over it but don't close it completely. You want the crust to be the packaging for the bread. The paper bag helps to keep the moisture so it doesn't dry too fast but won't destroy the crust either. The cutting board seals the side you already cut. Depending of bread sort, this can make your bread stay nice for several days.
- spoonjim 4y agoI think you're talking about a much higher quality bread than what's available in the typical American grocery store.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 4y agoEver try and cut fresh bread and you have to smoosh it and it gets all flat and ruined. I have and I didn't like it.
- heeen2 4y agoI don't know how well they would work for American bread because it is much more soft than German bread, but many households have (bread) cutting machines here (Brotschneidemaschine). Also specially long serrated knifes are common for the task as well.
- dzhiurgis 4y agoIDK if it's German vs American, but bakery-white-bread (or supermarket-baked-white-bread) is so much better and crispier than stuff you get in a plastic bag. Almost as good as one I make in a bread-maker, minus all the fuss.
- gambiting 4y agoEh? I always cut my own bread(the sliced bread only really appeared here few years ago, and it's a faff because you have to ask at the bakery for them to cut it for you) and I can't imagine how you could smush it. Is that the weird American toast bread? An actual loaf of bread(like this: https://assets.tmecosys.com/image/upload/t_web600x528/img/recipe/ras/Assets/88c776a8-91b9-40e5-98bd-4aca3619a39c/Derivates/cbbbaf9a-4921-4a25-adb0-39a9e41bdec9.jpg https://assets.tmecosys.com/image/upload/t_web600x528/img/re... ) definitely doesn't smoosh when cut.
- sudosysgen 4y agoThere is more to bread than what you showed, but yes, amongst others, weird American toast bread can collapse under a knife. Not that it's the only one.
- savanaly 4y agoThe reasons are too many to list, there's a reason we have a saying "best thing since sliced bread". >What's so hard about slicing bread yourself? * Have to get out a cutting board and knife * Have to clean the cutting board and knife (oh wait-- my cutting board is at the bottom of my sink full of dirty dishes...guess this 30 second lunch is turning into a ten minute one...) * Don't forget to clean up the crumbs that spilled everywhere including the floor when you cut the bread. Go find that broom from wherever it is around the house * Small chance to cut yourself * What if you don't have a knife to begin with? * What if your small child is making themself a meal? What are the chances they cut themself? * Pre cut bread is even widths, smoothly cut Multiply all these troubles by two if you're frail...
- trey-jones 4y agoBased on this article, I now believe the reason we say "best thing since sliced bread" is purely marketing. The (apparent) originator of sliced bread seems to have called it "the best thing since wrapped bread", and I guess that's saying something? Anyway, your points are fine, but surely being made to slice your own bread isn't the end of the world. The outcry depicted in this article gives me hope/despair that there is nothing new about reddit-style whining about everything.
- markeibes 4y agoIt shows that you've never seen or used a Brotschneidemaschine
- Dylan16807 4y agoThat makes all the risk from sharpness much more intense. And I still have to keep it somewhere and keep it clean. I'm happy letting someone put the bread through that before I take it home.
- baud147258 4y agoI have cutting board for my bread (and associated knife) that's always out next to the toaster. And since I only ever cut bread on it, I rarely need to clean it. Bread crumbs are produced just as readily produced by sliced bread and getting even cuts isn't hard if you're doing it every day. Though at the end of the day, it's down to a matter of taste and considering how I can very easily get bread that's miles better than any sliced bread I've tasted, for me it's easily worth the hassle.
- mbg721 4y agoThe article alludes to this, but families were larger and bread was eaten with just about every meal.
- gumby 4y agoI wonder this too but everybody else in this household cuts wavering and irregular slices. If I'm lucky I end up with a slice with a wedge profile. Usually worse. It's hardly a difficult skill to acquire, I'd think.
- ordu 4y agoIrregular slices... The "dad's joke" of my grandfather. I'm not sure my translation is good, but hopefully it is good enough. Granddad: Do you want a slice to hold in one hand or in two? Me: mm... in two. Granddad carefully cuts a slice so thin, that it is impossible to hold it in one hand.
- holoduke 4y agoIn the Netherlands we eat bread which you cannot easily slice yourself. You need a machine for that. Most people eat this kind of bread in the morning and during lunch.
- wernerb 4y agoAh yes still waiting on that futuristic cheap bread slicer machine. If my bread is more or less than 15mm it will be a day to remember
- zizee 4y agoClassic HN. Can you really not conceive any benefits? Is your imagination so limited that it does not extend to seeing that other people have different use cases to you? Yes there are clearly drawbacks, but there are obvious benefits. For me, with three children that take sandwiches to school for lunch, it's all about convenience. I don't need one more minor complication getting them ready each day. Some well meaning advice: being able to put yourself in other people's position, seeing from their perspective is an invaluable life skill. It is extremely useful in personal and professional settings, and it is very worthwhile to develop.
- TMWNN 4y ago>Classic HN. Can you really not conceive any benefits? Is your imagination so limited that it does not extend to seeing that other people have different use cases to you? [...] >being able to put yourself in other people's position, seeing from their perspective is an invaluable life skill. Indeed. I thought the same thing when reading all the comments regarding the Apple and SpaceX announcements regarding satellite communications on ordinary phones stating "Who needs this? I'm never going to be anywhere outside cellular service!" Good grief.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- phyzome 4y agoIt's a convenience. That doesn't mean slicing it yourself is hard, per se, it means that for some people the convenience is worth it. (And what's annoying for one person can be a hardship for another, e.g. if someone has a disability.) Personally, I don't like it, since it stales so quickly -- or you have to add a bunch of additives to prevent that. But now that I have a kid, I suddenly understand why sliced cheese and bread could be useful -- my kid isn't strong enough to slice them herself yet, and I'd like her to be able to prepare her own food.
- dzhiurgis 4y agoHow's worst (or best) of both worlds - local shop (Lidl) makes you slice the bread yourself. You put it in the machine, pick thickness (obvs no option for what you really after), it slices it and then you have to package yourself. Whole process takes eons (minutes), it's super fiddly and a nightmare with kids and you inevitably loose a slice or two. Would someone else slice it for me please, thank you very much.
- analog31 4y agoModern ultra-soft bread can't be sliced without a machine. The stuff you bake yourself, no problem.
- maxboone 4y agoSlicing it myself goes through the bread faster, but I'm used to european bread / loaf though. Our sliced bread is very different from wonder bread.
- goatcode 4y agoI feel the same about pre-sliced bagels. That some jurisdictions have an additional tax on sliced bagels makes the notion, to me, even more absurd.
- Larrikin 4y agoSliced bread has plenty of obvious benefits, but I hate how it's sold in the US. In Japan it's sold in smaller cubes. You don't usually have to worry about left over bread going moldy from a huge loaf, or ruining the texture by freezing leftovers. But the best part is that you can choose the slice size. If you want delicious soft in the middle toast for breakfast you can choose a brick in four or six slices. If you want a sandwich, select six or eight slices. I think you can go all the way down to 10 or 12, but never liked my bread that thin.
- cbhl 4y agoIt's worth noting that in the 1940s, gender roles were more segregated and families were bigger than they are today. _Wives_ were expected to make breakfast and lunch for their husbands and their children; the fine article itself contains an anecdote of one woman being expected to slice 22 slices every morning, by hand, with one knife. It's amusing how far the pendulum has swung the other way -- in 2020 instant yeast was in short supply so folks made sourdough starters, but there was plenty of flour (and bread knives - which now can be had for $7, about 33 cents in 1940s money) to go around. A hot fresh loaf out of the oven is now a novelty.
- gfunk911 4y agoI don't know whether this was true in the 1940s, but today, sliced bread is extremely different from other bread. Not because of the slicing, but because it's a very different, longer lasting product that also happens to be sliced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3sP2jwG9jc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3sP2jwG9jc
- gizmo686 4y agoNot all sliced bread. The bakery at my grocery store offers all of their breads in sliced and non-sliced forms. I'm sure they put in some type of preservative, as it lasts longer than when I bake bread, but it lasts no where near as long as the sandwich bread that is sold in a different section of the store.