Frequently Asked Questions

Most bread knives have about 9 inches of usable blade, made for sandwich loaves. A big sourdough boule needs more. Our Artisan Sourdough Bread Knife is built on a 14-inch blade with 12 inches of usable edge, enough to slice a 10-inch boule in clean, full slices.

It’s the same razor-sharp, double-scalloped stainless blade bakeries use to slice bread by the thousands, and butcher shops use for boneless meats. It’s made for thousands of hours of slicing, so it glides through crust without crushing the crumb. As Dad used to say, "No squishies."

Pointed serrations bite hard into thick crust but can tear soft crumb. Scalloped, or wavy, edges spread the cut across rounded edges, so they slice clean without tearing. Our double-scalloped blade grips a crisp crust and still leaves the crumb whole. Let the blade do the work with long, light strokes.

Let the loaf cool first. Then use a long scalloped blade and saw back and forth with almost no downward pressure. Hold the loaf gently without pressing. Pushing down is what crushes the crumb. Let the edge do the work.

The BowSlicer is my own design: a flexible bakery blade held tight under a half-moon bow. The arch lets it cut a boule straight down the middle in one pass, perfect for the crumb shot. It comes with a countertop display stand. Nobody else makes one.

No. Its double-scalloped bakery blade stays sharp for years. If it ever wears out or fails, contact us and we’ll replace the blade for $8 shipping and handling.

No, and they can’t be sharpened. They use a double-scalloped commercial bakery blade rated for 8,000 to 10,000 hours of bakery slicing. At home, our knives average about 20 years. If a blade ever fails, contact us and we’ll replace it for $8 shipping and handling.

Hand wash only, never the dishwasher. After washing, rub a little cutting board oil into the wood handle to keep its luster. Always slice on a wood cutting board, never stone or metal, and don’t use it on bone.

Pick a blade longer than the brisket is wide, so you can slice each piece in one long stroke without sawing back and forth. Our Texas Brisket Knife has a 12-inch blade for most cooks. The PitMaster has a 14-inch blade for full packers and competition slicing.

Rest it at least two hours. Separate the point from the flat along the fat seam. Slice the flat against the grain about a quarter inch thick, then turn the point 90 degrees and slice a little thicker, since the grain runs a different way. Use a long blade and light back-and-forth strokes.

It’s the small one, a 6-inch rounded blade for all the fix’ns at your barbecue: tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, sausage and fajitas. Same scalloped edge, hickory handle with a mesquite or walnut grip.

A lame (say "lahm") is a handle holding a razor blade, used to score your dough right before it goes in the oven. Scoring controls where the loaf opens as it rises, so it expands evenly instead of bursting at the side, and it’s where your design shows.

Usually 5 to 8 days of daily feeding. A starter is ready when it rises, bubbles and smells pleasantly sour on a steady schedule, day after day. Starting with some whole-grain rye or whole wheat flour speeds things up.

Most of the time it’s too cold. Below about 70°F a starter works slowly. Keep it somewhere around 76 to 80°F, use lukewarm water when you feed it, and keep a steady feeding schedule. Early on, a burst of bubbles then a quiet spell is normal, so keep going.

If it lives on the counter, feed it once or twice a day. Twice is better in warm weather. If you bake once a week or less, keep it in the fridge and take it out to feed a day or two before baking.

That’s "hooch," alcohol made by a hungry starter. It’s harmless. Pour it off for a milder flavor or stir it in for more tang, then feed. Seeing it often means your starter needs feeding more often.

Yes. Feed it, let it sit out about an hour, then refrigerate. It’ll keep for a couple of weeks between feedings. To bake, take it out, let it warm up, and give it a feeding or two until it’s bubbly and rising again.

Don’t toss it. Discard is great in pancakes, waffles, crackers, muffins, pizza dough and cookies. It adds a little tang and uses up what you’d otherwise throw away. Keep a jar in the fridge and add to it all week.

Not reliably. A ripe starter made mostly with white flour, or kept on the wet side, often sinks even when it’s ready. Trust the signs instead: it has doubled, it’s domed and full of bubbles, and it smells pleasantly sour.

Usually, yes. If your water is heavily chlorinated, let it sit out overnight so the chlorine can escape before you use it.

Use the poke test. Press a floured finger gently into the dough. If it springs right back, give it more time. If it comes back slowly and leaves a small dent, it’s ready. If it doesn’t come back at all, it’s over-proofed, so bake it soon. Cold dough from the fridge can fool the test.

At least 2 hours for a regular loaf, and 3 to 4 hours for a big boule or whole-grain loaf. The bread is still finishing inside: steam is leaving and the crumb is setting. Slice too soon and it turns gummy and squishes under the knife.

The most common causes are slicing it before it has cooled, under-baking, or under-proofing. Let the loaf cool fully, bake until the crust is deep brown, about 205 to 210°F inside, and make sure the dough has risen enough before it goes in the oven.

Scoring gives the loaf a planned place to open as it rises in the oven. Without it, the bread can burst at a weak spot on the side. One confident cut about a quarter inch deep at a low angle gives you that classic "ear."

Keep it cut side down on a board or in a bread bag for two to three days. Skip the fridge, which dries bread out faster. To keep it longer, slice it, freeze it in a sealed bag, and toast slices straight from the freezer.

No, but it helps. A Dutch oven traps steam so the loaf can rise fully before the crust sets. Without one, bake on a hot stone or sheet pan and add steam with a tray of hot water on the rack below.

Every knife is handmade by Joe Quiñones in Waco, Texas. The Texas Bread Knife Company started in 1992 with Joe and his dad, J. Rafael Quiñones Sr., selling at craft shows and farmers markets. We’ve been at it 34 years.

US shipping is a flat $12 per order. Every knife is handcrafted, so orders usually ship within one week. Plan on delivery about two weeks from the day you order.

You can return unused items in original condition within 30 days of delivery. Contact us first and we’ll send instructions. Knives that have been used, washed or sharpened can’t be returned. If anything arrives damaged or wrong, tell us within 7 days and we’ll make it right.

Yes. Most of our bread and brisket knives come in left-hand or right-hand versions. Just choose your hand when you pick your wood.

Bread knives come in walnut, oak, cherry or mahogany. Brisket knives have a strong hickory handle with a mesquite or walnut grip. Every piece of wood is natural, so grain and color vary a little from the photos.

Yes. Custom engraving is $8 for the first item and $4 for each additional one. For a custom graphic or logo, contact Joe Q and we’ll work it out together.

Order by November 30 for delivery before Christmas. You can still order after that, but we can’t promise it will arrive in time.

A Slice is a LoneSlice Rewards credit worth $2 in our shop. You earn Slices buying bread or brisket from a Rewards baker or BBQ partner, signing up, and inviting friends. Slices are store credit only, never cash.

Slices take 10% off anything in the LoneSlice shop, and some offers go higher than 10%. At checkout, sign in and your Slices apply to your order. If you don’t have enough for the full discount, you can use what you have.

It depends on the loaf price. A $4.00 to $8.99 loaf earns half a Slice, $9.00 to $14.99 earns 1 Slice, and $15 or more earns 1½ Slices. Your baker scans a one-time QR code to add them to your account.

Every full pound of brisket you buy from a LoneSlice BBQ partner earns 3 Slices. Leftover weight carries forward toward your next pound, so a half pound today and a half pound next visit still adds up.

Yes. Sign up free with your email and you get 1 Slice just for joining. The first 250 new members get a double Slice, worth $4. No purchase needed.

Share your invite link. You earn 1 Slice when a friend joins and makes their first qualifying purchase. Bring in a new baker or BBQ spot and earn 10 Slices once they’re approved and make their first sale. Invite 10 friends who confirm their email and you get a free wooden Texas butter knife.

If your order is refunded, the Slices you used go back into your account. If only part of the order is refunded, you get back the Slices used on those items.