Sliced Pan?

By pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
Derry, Northern Ireland
November 10, 2017 5:00pm CST
Why is it that the first or last slice of bread, the heel, in a standard supermarket packaged white pan loaf is so thick? All the slices in between are of a uniform, medium thickness, yet it is often possible to get two extra slices out of the heels. Is there an unwritten rule of bread production that says the first slice you pull out has to be a doorstep? Is the slicing machine misaligned? Is it a marketing ploy? Even the average toaster has a hard time dealing with this slab of a heel!
10 people like this
10 responses
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Nov 17
Until this year in Ireland, I'd never heard them called 'heels' before. We used to give them to Herc but now he is no more, I try to get another slice out of them and chuck the rest.
3 people like this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (12597)
• Ireland
10 Nov 17
@judyev What else would you call them? In my wild colonial childhood they were known as hubcaps, but heels fits much better.
3 people like this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
Perhaps you encountered one of these in your travels... The bee's knees for dealing with thick heels...
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Nov 17
@xFiacre We would fight over who got the 'crust'. I've never heard of hubcaps in relation to heels or crusts either.
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
14 Nov 17
That's weird, pgn... The heels of the loaves here are half as thick as a regular slice of bread. And usually much shorter than the other slices, too. I happen to like the heels but nobody else seems to. Most people leave them for last and use them to keep the other slices of bread from getting stale? (That never did make sense to me. If you have one slice of bread much shorter and thinner than any other slice, how will moving it up to the next full sized slice keep that slice from getting stale?) I keep the plastic wrapper closed and the air out of it to keep our bread from getting stale, especially since I might take both heels out and have them in a sandwich as soon as we get home with the loaf of bread.
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
16 Nov 17
Loaf bread.
@pgntwo Our loaves aren't as uniformly made as the loaf you show looks. Our loaves have a somewhat rounded (on top) end to them. When the machines slice them, you get a heel that is half as thick as a regular slice and can be only half the height of the other slices. Look at the loaf I show here. Now, imagine the slicer cuts the first slice 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Do you see how the first and last slice will not be as tall as the other slices? (Yes, both heels would be that thick while the other slices are usually half an inch thick.) Pretty and I store our bread in the fridge instead of leaving it on the counter as most people do here.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
17 Nov 17
@pgntwo LOL! A loaf of bread might last two weeks for us or two days, depending on what we feel like making. If neither of us feel like cooking then sandwiches are easy and tasty! Rolls last two days, maybe... while a dozen bagels last almost two weeks. (Pretty won't eat bagels.) Pretty has real coffee in the fridge as well as the tea I like. (I've wondered why people here store their tea and coffee in a cupboard. I prefer mine to taste fresh rather than old and stale.)
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
15 Nov 17
Hmm. If your bread is made in a rectangular pan, how does either heel only cover a fraction of the next slice...? Regardless, you are right - the plastic wrapper means you can tuck into each of the ends whenever the fancy takes you We get waxed paper wrappers on some of the supermarket loaves here, which also keeps the bread from going mo(u)ldy as quickly as when the bread is in a plastic bag.
1 person likes this
maezee
@maezee (41997)
• United States
10 Nov 17
Ive never heard them called Heels before. I usually give these to birds.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Nov 17
This was a new term to me too until we were in Ireland earlier this year.
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
For some reason, wholemeal loaf heels seem to be thinner than their white loaf cousins. The best way to deal with the really thick ones is when they're really fresh, eat them first, or, if they are all that is left in the packet - a toaster capable of handling thick slices.
1 person likes this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (12597)
• Ireland
10 Nov 17
@pgntwo The photo you helpfully supplied should dispel any wondering about what a sliced pan might be.
2 people like this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
I could've gone for the batch, I guess - just look at the hubcaps on that!
3 people like this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (12597)
• Ireland
11 Nov 17
@pgntwo I note the description on the packet "sliced bread" - I presume that's for the benefit of those who don't know what a pan is.
2 people like this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
@xFiacre One would assume... I do remember my shocked first encounter with buttermilk
2 people like this
M.-L.
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Nov 17
I have a confession to make: this question interests me as much as the news that a bag of rice has fallen over in China - as the Germans say. We don't eat toast anyway. I could eat cotton. When a friend of mine and I hitchhiked through Scotland, we bought toast called 'Mother's Pride'. We carried it in our rucksacks. When we took it out, it was completely flattened. We had to pull and stretch the slices in order to be able to put something on them. No substance in toast!
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
12 Nov 17
My latest item probably won't be of much interest either, in that case - unless you are familiar with the French version of, I think, "Mini Berliner" ...
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
12 Nov 17
@MALUSE You never can tell what might tickle another's myLot "Comment" button, can you?
M.-L.
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Nov 17
@pgntwo On the contrary. I even left a comment. We don't need the French for this speciality.
1 person likes this
Ali Canary
@AliCanary (3045)
•
11 Nov 17
I've never noticed this--usually one of the two tends to be skinnier, in my experience. Maybe I'm buying the right brand of bread!
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
I suppose I could by un sliced and slice it myself... Or buy round loaves ;)
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
12 Nov 17
@AliCanary Wow! In this instance, the heel is the thinnest slice in the pack!
Ali Canary
@AliCanary (3045)
•
11 Nov 17
@pgntwo - Here in the US, we have something called "Texas toast", which is basically thickly-sliced bread. It's good for use as garlic bread or a makeshift hamburger bun.
2 people like this
marguicha
@marguicha (215492)
• Chile
10 Nov 17
Here they are not thicker than the rest of the bread.
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
Thank your lucky stars for that
Cahaya
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
14 Nov 17
Here the "heels" as you call them are about the same thickness as the other slices in between. I usually don't eat them.
MARILYN
@Marilynda1225 (79772)
• United States
10 Nov 17
We've always called the ends heels but never understood why both ends were so thick. I usually use them for my meatloaf
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
11 Nov 17
Now meatloaf is a use for them that I had hitherto not considered... Must look that up.
James Higgins
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Nov 17
I either toast them and smear them with butter and jam or give them to the birds.
1 person likes this
pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
12 Nov 17
I like your first solution best - toast them, then cover them in butter and jam, nice with a big mug of tea.
1 person likes this