This German Man Is on a Quest to Cut the Perfect Slice of Bread

Published 14 July 2026 · india

Fine precision German engineering has long been a selling point for exports like machinery and cars. But have you ever considered bringing that kind of

Fine precision German engineering has long been a selling point for exports like machinery and cars. But have you ever considered bringing that kind of exactitude to the breakfast table? Wouldn’t your morning toast be improved by a little math? Shouldn’t your day start with elegantly—nay, exquisitely proportioned food? If the answer to any or all of these questions is “yes,” you’re bound to vibe with Jan, a German man better known online as Germanbreadcutter. Since February, he has amassed more than 100,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube thanks to a single surprising skill: his ability to slice bread so evenly that you’d swear it wasn’t cut by hand.

Jan, who requested that WIRED withhold his last name to avoid having coworkers learn of his social media presence, was inspired to launch his channels after one breakfast when a friend cut a particularly magnificent slice of bread and held it up for him to admire. “I was deeply impressed,” he recalls. “Since that moment, life hasn’t been the same. Every single time I cut a loaf of bread now, my ultimate goal is to make the cut as perfect as I possibly can.” Instagram content The challenge is simple and undeviating. Every day, Jan places a loaf of bread on a cutting board, wishes his fans a “good bread-cutting morning,” then says he is going to “see how accurate we can slice today.” Next, using either a Piklohas or Hoshanho bread knife (German and Japanese brands, respectively), he attempts to cleave a slice of totally uniform thickness.

Once the slice is separated, he measures it around the edges with a digital caliper tool made by Kynup, a manufacturer owned by a Chinese company. His goal is as little deviation as possible between measuring points, and he measures fluctuations in his accuracy with a continuously updated “breadsheet.” Mundane as that may sound, the reactions are anything but, particularly when Jan manages to get within a millimeter—sometimes even a fraction of a millimeter—of an objectively flawless slice. The comments on his currently reigning “Golden Slice,” which he cut on June 27 for episode 136, achieving a maximum thickness deviation of just 0.08 mm, are nothing short of ecstatic.

“Best performance in sports history,” wrote one fan. “One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen,” another declared. “THE APEX. THE CLIMAX. HE DID IT. NO MACHINE CAN BEAT HIM,” reads the top-liked comment.