Before we make hamotzi on the challos Friday night, you may notice a widespread custom that the person doing so passes the knife over the bread and makes a mark; afterwards he recites the brachah and cuts on that mark.
The Magen Avraham (מג"א סי' רע"ד סק"א) brings this custom in the name of the Ba"ch and the Maharsh"al. The commentators (מחצית השקל על המג"א שם) explain that this is done to minimize the "hefsek," the interruption, between making the brachah and cutting the bread: Being that the decision of where to cut is already made, the duration of time in between is minimized.
It would thus seem futile and counter productive to scrutinizingly check for a faint mark made on the bread; cutting in the general area is the idea.
Indeed:
"...I heard from my grandfather R. Moshe Tzvi Na'ah, the Rov of Kalisk that the Tzemach Tzedek was one time speaking of a unnecessary meticulous practice of certain people. He jokingly remarked that it looks similar to those who search around for the mark on the bread... The Chassidim understood that there is no need to search for the mark."
קצות השלחן סי' פ"ב סק"ח
ועי' שם שמסביר הנהגה זו ע"פ הלכה
See here
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