A Revolution in Sandwich Technology
Submitted by Stuart Broz on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 8:24am
The other day, Angela and I went over to Mark's Kitchen, a tasty Korean-American cafe. It had a nice selection of bread types. While we were eating, I kept looking at their bread list. Then I looked at Angela's chicken and avocado club sandwich on sourdough. Three slices of bread. Each of them were the same.
Why?
Why not a slice of pumpernickel on the bottom, olive bread in the middle, and sourdough on top? Why not a slice of challah or multigrain in there somewhere? Why limit yourself to one type of bread in any sandwich?
There are a ton of possibilities here. In addition to simply expanding on possible flavor combinations, there are some practical uses. Have a sandwich that needs the structure of a sturdy bread, but would benefit from the flavor and texture of something softer? Use the denser slice on the bottom to provide support, but go with the other one for the top.
I offer you freedom from sandwich bread monotony. What will you do with it?
Comments
I will... buy multiple loaves
I will... buy multiple loaves of bread, not be able to go through them fast enough, and let them mold in my fridge as I furtively try to eat more sandwiches than is possible?
I think this solutions only works when you're a family that already goes through multiple loaves of bread a week.
Ah...
Coming soon: uses for leftover bread (stale or otherwise)
I have a dream, of a
I have a dream, of a bakeshop.
It bakes standard-sized loaves of bread, cut into 12 slices each. It lays them all out, like Dunkin' Donuts, behind the counter. The customer will come in, and specify what slices of bread he or she wants in their custom loaf. Discounts are given for buying whole loaves (all of one kind of bread), and bread is simply sold until it's out. If the store isn't sold out by an hour before official closing, everything is 50% off until closing. Grab bags of leftovers (single slices) will be discounted, and they'll sell croutons and breadcrumbs made with extra.
You can buy 10 slices of your favorite bread and 2 new ones to try for a sandwich. You can buy 6 different types of bread for six sandwiches a week, all with different breads.
Someone, make this happen.
I have a device, it's called
I have a device, it's called a freezer.... :)
Seriously, I don't go thru bread fast enough for it to stay fresh so I freeze it and just remove as needed. This does drop its quality somewhat but not as much as mold! (I do buy special loaves when I am looking for something good.)
Not sure this is really a
Not sure this is really a revolution in *technology* but a claim that different kinds of bread work on sandwiches. Well... I'm not so sure. (I have my reputation for little-c conservatism to maintain after all! but mostly I'm just taking the other side for the Devil's Advocate role.)
I think mixing soft and chewy would be dangerous, as in likely to lead to a messy collapse, though if you were using it as a fork-and-knife sandwich, so what. Taste-wise I also wonder. Bread is the foundation and I don't tend to think of it as something that should be too forward, which I think switching breads would tend to do.
Let's consider the easiest example of a multi-bread sandwich I can think of right now, marble rye or marble sourdough. This is a mixture of pumpernickel and light rye or pumpernickel and sourdough. Texture-wise it's homogeneous but taste-wise not so much, but much like the black and tan of the bread world (beer is just liquid bread) its dark and light are compatible flavors. You wouldn't make black and tan from, say, a barleywine and light lager because the flavors are not compatible and the textures and mouth feel even more so. (Watch, some beer snob will contradict me....)
But what the heck, it's a sandwich, try it and see!
You sir, are a genius.
You sir, are a genius.
Stuart, I think it would be
Stuart, I think it would be good for you to come up with something and post it. In other words, one of those pesky recipes you disdain.... :-P
Yeah
I am a theoretician, not an experimentalist... but I suppose I can work something out.
"I am a theoretician, not an
"I am a theoretician, not an experimentalist... but I suppose I can work something out."
But... but... don't you want to hack or just talk about hacking?