A manual bread slicer is a plastic or wooden structure that holds a loaf of bread and has one or more slots that guide the knife while slicing through the bread. The purpose of the manual slicer is to cut a loaf of bread evenly and to prevent the bread from being crushed during cutting. Most manual bread slicers do not come with a bread knife.
Typically, a manual bread slicer has a base with edges that will accommodate a standard size loaf of bread. Coming up from the edges is either one knife guide or several guides. When there is one knife guide, the loaf of bread is placed on the platform so that one edge of the bread protrudes beyond the knife guide at the thickness the bread needs to be cut. The first cut is then made and the slice of bread is removed. If more slices are desired, the bread is slid forward in the slicer and another cut is made.
When a manual bread slicer has more than one knife guide, the loaf of bread does not need to be moved at all during the slicing or, if the loaf is long, it will only need to be moved two or three times to completely slice through the loaf. To use this type of slicer, the bread is placed on the platform so that the edge of the loaf is just beyond the first knife guide. The knife is then slid into the first guide, the bread is cut, and then the knife is placed into the next guide and the bread is sliced again. This continues until the loaf is completely cut. If the loaf is longer than the available knife guides, the sliced bread is removed, when all the guides have been used, and the loaf of bread is then slid forward in the slicer.
A long, serrated bread knife should be used with a manual bread slicer. When using a manual bread slicer, the knife should be slid into the guide and, with very little downward pressure, it should be gently used to saw through the bread. The serrated edge moving back and forth across the bread should cut the bread rather than downward pressure.
The manufacturer's instructions for cleaning a manual bread slicer vary and should always be followed. Most manual bread slicers, however, are cleaned by simply dumping the crumbs in the garbage and wiping the slicer down with a damp cloth. Occasionally, slicers will need to be washed with warm water and dish soap and then carefully dried.