You Can’t Make a Good Sandwich Without Good Bread
Sandwiches are more than fillings
We are currently in a depressing era of Instagram-driven food trends, where so many sandwiches are dripping, hulking over-stuffed monsters, designed to be photographed as much as or more than they’re designed to be eaten.
I propose a modest revolution in the face of this excess: a return to the notion that sandwiches first and foremost are about the bread. I would like everyone to dispel the notion that the bread in a sandwich is merely a vehicle that prevents you from getting condiments on your fingers or eating meat with your hands.
Plain and simple: Bad bread means bad sandwiches.
In part, I believe that we have arrived in this strange place due to years of terrible bread. Generally speaking, bread in many places in the United States hasn’t been good enough to enjoy on its own, or even modestly dressed as a sandwich. Spongey, industrial bread tastes bad or at best bland, and the more stuff you can pack inside of it, the less you are aware that you are actually eating it. From a standpoint of functionality, this type of bread is soft and allows certain flexibility in the construction of a sandwich.
Our enthusiasm for smushable sandwiches — and a fixation with the tastes from some of our suburban childhoods — have fueled the wild popularity of products like Martin’s potato rolls. I get it; I’ve smushed and crammed as much as the next guy, but really, let’s not forget that we have teeth. Also, dough conditioners and preservatives that create this celebrated smushiness, and allow for an incredibly long shelf life, are not good for us.
Truly, texture is an essential consideration in choosing the bread for a sandwich. Ask yourself: Will I be able to bite through this sandwich? Will chewing this sandwich be a pleasure or incredibly laborious? Hard-crusted “country-style” loaves are not always the ideal choice when it comes to sandwiches. If you slice them horizontally and fill them hoagie-style, sometimes they can be too much of a workout. The crust can be too thick and the interior too soft to provide the right construction. Country-style bread is often better for sandwiches when it’s toasted or pressed — or even cut thick and served open-face, topped with a filling that’s particularly wet and eaten with a knife and fork. Yes, it is fair to debate whether this is still considered a sandwich. For the sake of discussion, I say, sure, why not?
Personally, my favorite bread for sandwiches is pizza bianca. When made well, it is perfectly crisp — not crunchy; there is a difference — and sturdy enough to be filled with a wide range of choices while being simultaneously soft, light, flavorful, and incredibly digestible. Focaccia can also be a great choice, as well as ciabatta, or even a good baguette. If you go with either of the latter, seek loaves that are light and airy, not excessively bready, with crusts that are not too hard or thick.
There are a wide range of options. Just think about what it is like to eat before you select it. It sounds silly, but it is astounding how many sandwiches made on the wrong bread are sold in celebrated commercial contexts.
Another related consideration is structure. Will this bread adequately stand up to the intended fillings? If not, check and make sure you are not asking too much of the bread with something that is just excessive or ill-conceived. A meatball sandwich can be great, but probably not on brioche or a soft pain de mie. The bread will start to dissolve with the sauce and there’s a good chance the meatballs will fall out.
Seek balance in both construction and flavor. Regarding sandwich fillings, harmony is key. Pick one to three items (in extreme cases four) and balance them in proportion to each other. Choose them to highlight the choice of bread.
Season the separate components of a sandwich. It is always disappointing when you bite into a sandwich with lettuce or tomato or some kind of greens or vegetables and those items are not salted or seasoned at all. A little salt is nice. Olive oil is always a good idea; a light drizzle on the bread or to dress any vegetables goes a long way to making a sandwich that is merely fine way better.
Rick Easton is a bread baker and a pizza maker.
So you’ve got good bread. Great. What are you going to put in it? Here are some ideas to get you started.
Pepper and Potato Sandwich
I understand that, for some, the idea of putting potatoes on a sandwich is just plain crazy. I assure you it isn’t. It’s actually enjoyed in many parts of the world in many different combinations. For example, it’s a common side dish in Calabria, Italy, that also happens to make a great sandwich filling. If you like, make it and serve with dinner, save leftovers, and stuff them in bread for lunch the next day.
Serves one.
Ingredients
4 medium yellow-fleshed potatoes (Yukon golds will work, German butterballs, and picassos are also interesting varieties. Experiment with what varieties are available to you. Just look for something creamy and relatively low moisture.)
2–3 sweet peppers (Mix of colors, types, whatever: Use good ones. I like elongated sweet peppers like Carmens.)
One small red onion
Olive oil
Salt
Bread, something with a decent but light crust
Instructions
Peel the onion, remove the ends, and slice lengthways into slices between and eighth and a quarter of an inch (doesn’t really matter — just not too fine). Place the onions in a skillet with an abundant amount of good olive oil (a little more than you might be comfortable with, but not too much. Think shallow fry. Heavier than a light film) and bring the heat up to medium or so.
Stem the peppers and remove the seeds and any white veins inside. Cut into strips about half an inch thick. When the onions begin to soften, add the peppers and season with a little salt.
Cook, stirring regularly and monitoring your heat. You don’t want them to get too brown.
Meanwhile, wash, peel, and cut your potatoes into small wedges or rounds, roughly the same size as the peppers, but smallish so they don’t take too long to cook. When the peppers have begun to soften, add the potatoes and some more salt. Cook, stirring periodically to prevent sticking. You want all of the vegetables to be very soft and just beginning to brown a little. Check for salt. Either serve hot as a side dish or, preferably, stuff inside of a slightly crusty end of bread and eat warm or at room temperature.
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Broccoli Rabe Sandwich
Sandwiches don’t need to have meat. In fact, they are often better when they don’t.
Serves one.
Ingredients
1 small bunch broccoli rabe
One clove garlic
One small fresh or dried hot red pepper
Olive oil
Ciabatta, baguette, serviceable roll (semolina bread is nice), or focaccia
Ricotta (the real stuff, whey-based, not whole milk “ricotta” — that is not a thing)
Aged pecorino (try a Moliterno from Basilicata, or a Canestrato, or even pecorino Romano, but one from Lazio, not Sardinia)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add a generous amount of salt. Boil the broccoli rabe for a few minutes. Remove from the boiling water and shock in ice water. Roughly chop.
Crush and peel the clove of garlic. Place in a skillet with a film of olive oil and set the heat to low. Press the garlic into the oil in the skillet with a wooden spoon. As the garlic begins to sizzle, add the hot pepper (whole or chopped depending on how spicy you want it to be) and the still-damp, chopped broccoli rabe. Season with salt and turn the heat up to medium. Drag it around in the pan until cooked to your liking, though for sandwich purposes, cooking it a little on the soft side is good (but not obliterated). Check for salt, remove the garlic clove and the hot pepper (if left whole).
Split your sandwich bread. Scoop out some of the interior if necessary (and reserve for another use). Add a smear of the ricotta on one side of the bread, top generously with the warm broccoli, grate a little pecorino over it, and drizzle with some more olive oil before eating.
