I guess pretty much any bread knife is a bifl one, but in the twenty odd years i've had this, i keep thinking to myself that this knife is awesome basically any time i use it. That's why i want to recommend it. When I bought it it was quite cheap too, does not seem to be the case anymore. Is a Victorinox 5.2930.26
I make my own bread. A good bread knife is worth it. I also have an electric one that's a couple decades old with a bread maker another couple of decades old.
In your experience, is making your own bread cheaper than just buying bread? Or do you do it for the love of making your own bread?
I like the idea of it, but if it ends up being more expensive anyway, I don't really wanna do it. It's just so easy to buy a loaf of bread at the store.
But I also like the idea of making some tasty bread and mixing in some protein powder so I could have protein bread. lol
It is likely to be similar or somewhat lower price, give or take, but it will take you some effort and time to make (think at least 2 hours for a regular single-stage yeast bread, longer for sourdough)
If you want to save on your groceries, this probably isn't the optimal way unless bread is heavily overpriced in your area.
Also, mixing in proteins might necessitate changes in recipe/process depending on what you add - just a heads up if you're gonna do it anyway :)
In terms of ingredients it's super cheap. I make sourdough, so it's just the cost of flour and salt. Back of envelope math tells me the electricity is probably less than C$1 even if I preheat a stone for an hour and bake a single loaf.
It takes enough time that it all depends on how you value your time. It's probably something like 30m of work spread out over a couple of days in a bunch of steps. I find it (mostly) relaxing, and it fits into my routine, so I don't really worry about the time. If I wanted to save time that badly I could drink instant coffee, get rid of all my houseplants, etc.
For some reason, unclear even to myself, I have a serious dislike for Victorinox.
There are a few of those in the kitchen (didn't bought a single one) and I can't feel comfortable using it; it's as if it doesn't quite fit into my hand properly.
But if it that knife does the job for you, good!
The bread on the background, is it homemade or store bought? Looks nice.
I remember being a bit turned off when they recommended it to me in the shop, because of it being a Victorinox, but they told me it's the standard bread knife for all the restaurants etc, so i thought why not, it was also only around 20€ or something. I bought it for my parents too, they somehow lost their old bread knife (how can you lose a bread knife?), they also like it a lot.
The ones with the Fibrox handles I find very uncomfortable, they do not fit my hand at all. Not so much of an issue with a bread knife, but I really don't like sharpening their blend of steel.
I was once told their knives are not supposed to be sharpened. Or at least at a home setting. I was in a store, so I automatically take every word told to me with an extra grain of salt.
Never done it, but sharpening a serrated blade is not an easy task. Most will just wear down such a blade until rendered unusable and discard it afterwards.
they have been making these knives for so long that you can probably find it second hand (pawn shop? thrift store?) for a couple of … your local money units
French person advice : idk how widespread they are internationally, but Nogent*** (also called "Nogent trois étoiles") has a good one for half the price. My dad has been using one since before I was born, and the guy literally can't live without bread.
Mostly I use a regular kitchen knife (ie non serrated) for bread too, just have to keep it very sharp. It's carbon steel so it's easy to hone and strop.
I don't know, maybe by crudely cutting some real old bread, haha.
But yeah, that's why i said that probably any bread knife is a bifl item, just this knife is hands down the best bread knife i have ever used, so i thought i'd recommend it.