Unclutterer

1. Posted by Anita - 07/15/2009

   Erin, I’m surprised at you. Cut off whatever thickness of bread slice you want?! That’s crazy talk. Nothing but chaos can come of it

   Also: does this… thing have any right to call itself a bread slicer when it doesn’t come with anything to actually do the slicing?

2. Posted by Rue - 07/15/2009

   I would tend to think with this, that the crumbs falling off the knife would still land on the counter. >_>

   However, back when my mom used to make bread in our breadmaker, we did have one of the slicers (ours wasn’t fancy enough to have the crumb catcher though!). Let me tell you, it really did come in handy. The crust of the bread after it came out of the maker was kind of tough, so often we would squish part of the loaf trying to hold it steady enough in place to slice it. With the slicer, though, we didn’t really need to hold the loaf so we avoided most of the squishing.

   I do agree that part of the fun of homemade bread is being able to tear off a hunk of it though! Mmm, I want some bread now.

3. Posted by Jan - 07/15/2009

   I used to have a cutting board like this- the slats are basically one big insert that lift out, and then you just dump out the crumbs. No need to go digging after them.

   I agree, this is ridiculous. Just another piece of clutter that would be used once and then thrown into a closet forever.

4. Posted by Liza Lee Miller - 07/15/2009

   If you make bread for sandwiches, it can be really helpful to have a guide like this. A ruler doesn’t cut it (ha!) but that said I don’t use my slicer guide anymore. We just have really wonky sandwiches. The slicer guide is actually behind my sofa keeping the sofa from blocking the heater vent. See, they aren’t unitaskers at all!!!

5. Posted by Gumnos - 07/15/2009

   …and all this time I’ve used a cooling rack to measure slice-width and let the crumbs fall below, ‘cuz, well, I’ve already put the bread on the rack to cool.

   I suppose you could repurpose the bread-slicer in the event you had 8 vinyl LPs in overflow that didn’t fit on your shelf…

   -gumnos

6. Posted by Karen in Wichita - 07/15/2009

   I had (past tense) a bread slicer like this that came with an electric knife I got as a gift. It’s wonderfully useful when you bake your own bread. There’s a reason the expression is “greatest thing since sliced bread,” donchaknow.

   As Rue says, sometimes it is hard to cut crusty bread evenly, and we make a lot of French toast around here, not to mention sandwiches. It would almost have been one of those unitaskers worth having, except that it was So. Amazingly. Hard. To. Store.

   Unlike the one above, mine came with feet on one side… handy to provide a slope so the bread stays in place, and as I recall it had pegs the knife sat on, but the feet didn’t fold up. So keeping it on a wire shelf with the bread machine was a no-go, and what the feet didn’t catch on, the “fingers” of the bread slots did (being nicely tapered to make it easy to put the knife in worked against it there). And the plastic magically attracted dust and pet hair, and the various grooves and knife slots made it well-nigh impossible to just brush clean.

   When I last pruned my kitchen stuff, its annoyances had finally outweighed its usefulness. Someday, I’ll find a nice folding one, or one that’s integral to a bread container, and that’ll be worth having… but only because I already know I *will* use it enough.

7. Posted by NancyV908 - 07/15/2009

   Hmmm, funny, Erin, but a while back I was contemplating asking for your advice on slicing home-made bread. I have resisted buying one of these b/c they take up so much space & I wasn’t sure if it would work well anyway. But I think if it worked as advertised it would be very useful.

   Yeah, it’s fun to eat hunks of home-baked bread, & we do. But I want to use a lot of my bread for sandwiches (kids’ lunches) & it is really really hard to slice neat, not-super-thick slices with by hand. And for myself, if I’m making a sandwich, I want to keep the portions reasonable–not equivalent to 3 or 4 slices of store-bought bread.

   Measuring is not the issue. As Rue points out, the texture of the bread makes it hard to slice evenly or thinly. So yes, you could just buy sliced bread–that’s what I’ve been doing–but if you’re trying to save money or just prefer home-made (as I do), it’s not easy to get the slices right. I’ve heard an electric knife helps, but I don’t want one of those either.

   So, basically, I think this does fulfill a real need–I’m just not sure it does it in the best way. I find it really hard to slice sandwich-sized slices (& I’ve tried a LOT), so if anybody has a better solution than a ruler or one of these, I’d love to hear it.

8. Posted by Megan - 07/15/2009

   We would probably use this if we had one. My husband is always bitching about not being able to get the homemade bread slices thin enough for sandwiches (aka store-bought bread flimsyness). Not that I would buy one, though.

9. Posted by Loren - 07/15/2009

   We had a bread maker when I was a kid this bread slicer came in super handy if you were trying to make a sandwich, or get something to fit in the toaster. Especially when you have little hand trying to cut bread, it can protect your fingers like those things that hold bagels so you can cut them. We also had one that folded so it wasn’t hard to store.

   But I can speak from experience at home (and working in a bakery) there are a few keys to an even homemade sandwich. Denser Whole Grain breads are way easier to slice, wait till the bread has cooled way down before you try to make even slices, use your knife like a saw in a back and forth motion, and get a NICE serrated bread knife.

10. Posted by Glenn Friesen - 07/15/2009

    I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but you could use a wire desktop organizer to get perfect spacing for cutting bread. It’s a less professional approach that your tool here, but it’s effective. A graphic available at: http://images.google.com/image.....+organizer

    I’d recommend using one without a bottom/platform piece.

11. Posted by Matt - 07/15/2009

    You could turn it upside down over the bin to get the crumbs out?

12. Posted by Janet in Toronto - 07/15/2009

    As the mother of two teen boys, I will attest to the usefulness of the crumb catcher. These lads seem unable to cut (homemade) bread without getting crumbs all over the counter, under the microwave, and on the floor. With the catcher, you remove the slats and carry the base over to the compost bin and dump.

    That being said, we don’t have one at home, just at the cottage. If you add mice into the equation, it becomes even more useful in the quest to keep all food waste contained.

13. Posted by Cody - 07/15/2009

    Foul!

    Not a unitasker!

    I have a bread slicer which came with my bread maker from the mid-90s. That bread slicer decidedly did NOT “catch crumbs”. The crumbs were left to fall on the counter willy-nilly.

    Note: If you find yourself describing the unitasker using the word “with” then…

    ps: I “lost” my slicer years ago.

14. Posted by Kate - 07/15/2009

    I have to step up and defend this one (though not this model specifically). I can’t cut an even slice of homemade bread to save my life. My mom found a similar thing on QVC years ago that let you vary the thickness by moving the plexi guide into one of three slots. Worked for bagels, too. It was genius and I’m sad I can’t find it now. It never claimed to catch crumbs, however.

15. Posted by Jennifer - 07/15/2009

    I’ve eyed these several times at the coop and was tempted but the price and my teeny kitchen kept me from buying. I have trouble making even slices. They’re always thicker at one end.

16. Posted by Sue - 07/15/2009

    I bought a bread machine at a multi-family yard sale last year & they also had a bread slicing guide & electric knife set!! I got both & am glad that I did…. I’m a klutz & the slicing guide is enormously useful & prevents me from slicing my fingers (prior experience)

    Yes, it takes up valuable cabinet space, but I can make sandwiches easily. And when I’m requested to bring something to a pot-luck, I bring fresh baked & sliced egg bread & everyone is happy!!

    Best $6 I ever spent!! (for both items!!)

17. Posted by Melissa - 07/15/2009

    I’ve got two great crumb catchers– my 2 jack russells! They gotta earn their keep someway!

18. Posted by Sue - 07/15/2009

    Bread slicing guide & knife set mentioned in prior posting:

    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi.....tterer-20/

19. Posted by infmom - 07/15/2009

    I use an electric knife to get even slices from my homemade bread, but I must admit I’ve thought seriously about getting a crumb-catcher cutting board (sans slicing guide–they are available that way) because no matter who does the slicing, the crumbs go all over the counter. Instead of breaking out the Dust Buster it’d be nice to just take the rack out and tip the lower part into the compost bin.

20. Posted by Celeste - 07/15/2009

    My MIL swore by this when she was in her bread-machine craze. I’d have to agree that it’s hard to get the slices done nicely without the gauge. The crumbcatcher is also a cutting board, saving the countertop, when you think about it.

21. Posted by DaveW - 07/15/2009

    Hmph. I made this in one of my first woodworking classes. As an occasional bread baker, it is moderately useful, but I can cut a pretty straight slice of bread freehand. My wife on the other hand needs this to get her slices in the ballpark. Since we never (well, hardly ever) use it, it’s going to be disassembled for the nice walnut wood to be used in a new project (hopefully not equally useless).

22. Posted by Jen - 07/15/2009

    I’m with the camp that would see this as useful; my mother has a crumb-catcher board like this one, without the guide, and the slats just lift out, so you can toss the crumbs out. It doesn’t prevent stray crumbs from getting on the counter but it prevents most of them from bouncing around.

    I think the guide would be not only useful for preventing wonky-shaped slices of bread, but definitely not a unitasker: you could also use it to slice roasts and meatloaf.

    It should have adjustable widths, though–they really ought to have thought about that.

23. Posted by MartiLynn - 07/15/2009

    Oh my, how neanderthal of me to just rip of chunks to slather with butter as soon as bread is cool enough to touch. I’m supposed to be slicing the bread for sandwiches???

24. Posted by Sarah - 07/15/2009

    This is on Unitasker that I have to speak up for. It is actually very hard to cut usable slices of home made bread, even thick ones. A regular knife and lack of expert knowledge is more likely to produce something you better suited to feeding babies and ducks than making a sandwich.

    A friend of mine bakes bread every day in his bread machines and has something like this and an electric knife. I can assure you, it’s a colossal waste of time to do/use anything else.

    Also note that you could go crazy and skip one or two of the slice guides to create a double or triple-wide slice for things like French toast.

25. Posted by Molly - 07/15/2009

    Oh, I’m with MartiLynn – I just rip off hunks. If I’m baking smaller rolls, they’re each meal-size already. And if I’m supposed to be putting something on them, I just leave it openface.

26. Posted by Gryphon - 07/15/2009

    Typically I agree with these posts, but this is one I actually do disagree with a bit. A bread slicer actually makes it a lot easier to cut up homemade bread. It makes slicing the bread a lot easier (and for the record, using a ruler is all but an exercise in futility in most instances) and you actually get pieces of bread that aren’t wafer thin on one corner and three inches thick on the other. Yes, you can slice home made bread without a slicer and you can get decent results in some cases, but it is more time consuming and the results are often less than appealing than if you just use a slicer.

27. Posted by Polly Squires - 07/15/2009

    I think the non-unitasker way of slicing bread evenly and thinly is to invest in a deli slicer that not only slices deli meat, but also will slice bread to the appropriate width.

28. Posted by alle - 07/15/2009

    for the folks that want uniform/thin slices of bread for sandwiches… I have a “fiddle-bow” bread knife for this. Still technically a unitasker (well, I could cut other things to uniform size, I suppose) but at least a little more elegant and space-saving.

29. Posted by RoaringSilence - 07/15/2009

    I think I managed to make even slices by the time I was 6.. but then again, I live in Germany, where most people buy bread unsliced.

    The crumbcatcher is really weird. I think the only time it makes sense for a cutting board to have indentations is when it’s meant to catch liquids, do they don’t drip off the board.

    you know what needs a crumb catcher though? My laptop keyboard. It should have a little tray like toasters do. I’d use that!

30. Posted by Raine - 07/15/2009

    Interesting, but I wouldn’t have room for it. My mother got me a bread knife a few years ago with a built in metal guide – you turn a screw to adjust slices from as 1/4″ all the way up to 1 3/4″. It’s pretty convenient, and takes up less room.

31. Posted by Jacki Hollywood Brown - 07/15/2009

    You’ll probably think I’m a complete knob but the only reason I don’t bake my own bread is because I can’t slice it worth a crap.
    I am one of the few people who would actually use this as I would be much less likely to get blood on the bread (yes, I’ve cut myself many times) AND the slices would come out the same thickness at the top as the bottom.
    The crumb catcher? I’d probably use that too. Just to have a cutting board that was only used for the bread (and not raw meat!)

32. Posted by Eleanor W. Craig - 07/15/2009

    Erin, I have to admit, I usually laugh at the unitasker- my fave is the smores maker. Call me OCD, but when I bake bread it irritates me that I can’t slice it evenly.Not even close to even. I’d totally buy this slicer!

33. Posted by Lily Strange - 07/15/2009

    I used to work for an Italian restaurant and learned to slice bread fairly evenly fairly quickly (only got blood on it once–no, we did not serve that batch to customers!) but that was the Italian bread where it’s good to slice it fairly thick. For sandwich bread, I’m one of those people that could actually use this thing. However, I also like Polly and Raine’s suggestions.

34. Posted by Andy - 07/15/2009

    I like the idea of the fiddle-bow knife, but I like the idea of some kind of guide that attaches to an existing knife even better. It doesn’t look like anyone sells or makes one, but it might be fun to try to rig one up somehow. A table knife, some spacers and some wire-ties, maybe?

    Needless to say, I have low standards for esthetics on my kitchen equipment.

35. Posted by Nate - 07/15/2009

    This is one item I would find totally useful. Make it nice and easy to cut slices the right size for the toaster/etc. Also means you dont squash the bread when cutting it. The crumb catcher part I would presume the crumbs would come out easily enough and help stop messy crumbs sticking to the bread and messing everywhere else up!

36. Posted by wendy - 07/15/2009

    A tip passed on to me by my mother. When slicing a loaf of bread, don’t watch the knife. Focus on where you want the knife to go. All of a sudden I’m making even slices. Thanks, Mom!

37. Posted by lvana - 07/15/2009

    I cut nice even thin slices and have since I was a kid, don’t understand how others find it so hard. Maybe I’m gifted

    BTW my sis and bro would get me to slice for them too and I always thought they were so lame ’cause they couldn’t do it right.

38. Posted by honestb - 07/15/2009

    My mom has a breadboard like this, minus the plastic slice guide thing, so it is just a bread board. The slats are all connected, the thing lifts out, and there’s a tray of crumbs. You can’t see it from the picture.

    Personally, I slice my homebaked bread without a guide, but I noticed getting a quality, sharp bread knife (also a unitasker, or at least it should be if you want it to stay in good shape) made it a lot easier to slice straight.

39. Posted by Heidi - 07/16/2009

    Honestly, I asked my father-in-law to make me a homemade wooden version of one of these. We eat almost exclusively homemade bread (mostly out of the breadmaker… I am not Martha Stewart!) and cutting it is a complete pain. And no, a ruler or grid lines on a cooling rack aren’t the same; maybe it’s just me, but my knife slips drastically off course unless I’m using my cutting guide.

    I will say, however, that I was too cheap to buy a commercialized version, which is why I was thrilled my father-in-law could make one for me. It’s one unitasker I use almost every day.

40. Posted by Anna N. - 07/16/2009

    I’ve been contemplating buying a crumb catcher for a while now. I never considered a bread slicer, although I might get it if it was there – I’m rubbish at slicing a straight line in bread, it always veers off in one direction or another, which often results in burnt toast or something. But my parents had a crumb catcher when I lived with them and it’s fantastic.

41. Posted by Karyn - 07/16/2009

    If I were someone who baked a lot of homemade bread to use for sandwiches, and if it really really mattered to me to have perfect 1/2″ slices, I’d probably look to see if a small home-use version of a professional bread-slicing machine were available at a price that wouldn’t be out of reach.

    Since I’m neither of the above, I’ll just stick with the merry joy of ripping chunks and slicing slabs that slant at funny angles. Homemade bread is perfect for dipping in homemade soup, and you don’t need perfect slices for that!

42. Posted by Kathryn - 07/16/2009

    Loaves from my bread machine are very tall, and often crusty on the outside and very fluffy on the inside (I’m not a fan of dense whole wheat). It takes a certain amount of sawing force to get through the crust, and the airy inside doesn’t support the structure well under this kind of abuse. I could see something like this being very handy indeed. I’m not so much concerned about perfect slices–just not crushing the loaf.

43. Posted by Marla - 07/16/2009

    So glad to see so many other people stood up for this item. I have recently renewed my breadbaking when I had to decide whether to keep or get rid of my bread-machine. If I kept it I had to use it. So I use it all the time. Now I have to struggle with slicing — hadn’t thought about solving the slicing problem till this post. Thank you — off to get a slicer!!!

44. Posted by rukidding - 07/16/2009

    sigh… after 2 good, genuine unitasker posts the past weeks, we’re now back to un-thought-out, un-researched knee-jerk reactions to bonafide useful products.

    Many older people (ie. arthritic senior citizens) as well as handicapped people (ie. ppl w/ 1 arm) use devices like this on a daily basis to make their lives easier. Couple the bread slicer with an electric knife and you have an extremely convenient setup which healthy people take for granted.

    While this tends towards a niche demographic, it doesn’t take all that much intelligence or imagination to realize it has a vital purpose for some people.

    As far as it having to be used with “homemade bread”… have you not been to a grocery store in your life? Not everybody eats Wonderbread. Almost every grocery store carries whole loaves in their bakery section because it tastes better.

    For the love of everything holy, STOP with these idiotic articles. Take some time to actually think about what you’re writing before you put it up. Seriously – these Unitasker posts are becoming Unitaskers in and of themselves.

45. Posted by Karyn - 07/16/2009

    @rukidding – Not all store-bought sliced breads are Wonderbread. I buy whole wheat bread, usually from a co-op or our local Great Harvest bakery, and they come pre-sliced. Once in a while I buy whole loaves, but they usually have olives and stuff in them, or they’re for dipping, so I prefer to slice them thick or rip them in chunks.

46. Posted by WhiteCedar - 07/17/2009

    The Zen of Slicing.
    Do not guide the knife.

    Be the knife.

    As someone who bakes bread about three times a week, I find a slicer and an electric knife to be efficient, and utterly consistent in their product. There’s a reason why sliced bread is the standard against which all other good ideas are measured. (Karen in Wichita knows.)

    If home baked bread were a once-a-month novelty then I would have no problem living with the inevitable shredded, crumbly mess. If I were a bread-slicing savant this would be completely unnecessary. As it isn’t and I’m not, a bread slicer takes the adventure out of the process and lets me enjoy home made bread the way I want to.

    Unclutterer, angels look to you with shining eyes.

47. Posted by Erin Doland - 07/17/2009

    @rukidding — If you don’t like the unitasker Wednesday columns, feel welcome to create an RSS feed with Yahoo! Pipes that delivers our content to your inbox without these specific columns. Each week we name the posts with “Unitasker Wednesday” in the title, so just use that phrase as the filter.

    http://pipes.yahoo.com

48. Posted by Linda - 07/17/2009

    I used to have something like this, but it broke. I’ve got to get another one. These are great for slicing homemade bread. Totally useful!

49. Posted by RoaringSilence - 07/17/2009

    @rukidding
    I thought it goes without saying that the items in this post are judged from the viewpoint of physically and mentally healthy people.
    It makes perfect sense to say that a healthy person using a wheelchair is just lazy, while it is an inevitable item for a handicapped person.

50. Posted by Anne - 07/17/2009

    I have my crumb catcher bread board on my counter where it is used numerous times during the day…definately not a unitasker. It is wonderful for slicing bread, but also doubles as a trivit for hot pans, a cooling rack for bread straight out of the oven (I bake several times a week without a bread machine…lets hear it for 5 minute Artisan bread.) and for cooling other items.
    The slatted tray lifts off the base and you just dump the crumbs. Keeps the counter nice and crumb free.
    As for the slicing guide, I have trained myself how to cut thin, straight cuts, but I can see how one could be helpful, especially with children. Just make sure you have a good, serrated bread knife.

51. Posted by Margaret - 07/26/2009

    I (I being my bread machine!!) make bread every day white and wholemeal, and have to agree that the fresh made bread being crispy outside and so lovely and soft inside is difficult to cut neatly, especially for a half soaked, starving, 15 year old boy!! We use a slicer that came with and fits snugly inside a plastic bread store from Lakeland. Storing and slicing in one and keeps crumbs in check too. Still gets crumbs around but you learn to live with that as the smell of fresh bread every morning is v addictive!

52. Posted by Summer - 10/11/2009

    Yes, I am the not so proud owner of the bread thingy above. I was doing pretty good with the lists of stupid items until we got to this one. I have only used it a couple of times (pretty new) so I am not sure if it will live in the house yet or go visiting good will.

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