Sandwich Bread Loaves

Subs. Hoagies. Po'boys. Grinders. Heroes.

There are so many names for sandwiches made on this bread. I guess it all depends on where you hail from. Whatever you call them, they're delicious. 

 Before rising

At first, I called this recipe "sandwich loaves," but that was before I discovered what a sandwich loaf actually is. 

Yeah. Not so appetizing. Apparently it was a popular meal in the '60s. No thanks!! 

After rising

These sandwich bread loaves are so yummy. We eat them with cold cuts, as toasted sandwiches, as crawfish po'boys, as garlic bread. . . They work for everything! 

The best part is that this bread still tastes good for up to 3-4 days after you bake it, so you can make them ahead of time and eat the leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. 

Scoring with a lame

A lame (pronounced lahm like llama without the a) is a little tool used to score bread. I just bought one for myself, and this was my first time using it. It works way better than a knife for me, so if you make bread frequently, I would recommend getting one! Here's the one I bought. 

The original recipe makes 2 large loaves, but I make 8 sandwich loaves. You can size and shape the loaves however you like. Recipe adapted from Naomi Cakes. 

Sandwich Bread Loaves

Yields: 2-10 loaves, depending on the size 

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp yeast (or 1 packet yeast)

2 cups warm water

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil 

5 + cups flour (more if needed, depending on your humidity and temperature)

1 egg with a splash of cold water for egg wash

1. Combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp sugar, and yeast. Stir until dissolved and let activate for 10 minutes. 

2. While the yeast is activating, mix together the remaining water, sugar, salt, and oil in large bowl (I use my Kitchenaid). Stir to combine. Add the yeast mixture and 2 cups flour and mix. 

3. Slowly add the remaining flour until the dough starts to remove from the sides of the bowl. Knead in the mixer or by hand until the dough slightly springs back when you press your finger into it. Let rise, covered, in a greased bowl until it's doubled in size. 

4. Punch down dough and shape into the desired shape. Let rise for 30-40 minutes, until puffy. Score the dough with a sharp knife and brush the loaves with an egg wash. 

5. Bake at 375 degrees until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. For the smaller sandwich loaves, it takes about 20 minutes. Larger loaves will probably take 30-40 minutes. 

Chocolate Silk Pie

I love celebrating Pi Day. Pi Day is the day where you can unapologetically eat as much pizza and pie as you want, and that is a beautiful thing. It also happens to fall on my best friend's birthday. (Shout out to Kaki! Happy Birthday!)

While I love celebrating Pi(e) Day, I have to say that pie crust isn't my favorite. I usually prefer pies with a different kind of crust. For this Chocolate Silk Pie, I decided to use a brownie crust, but you can use Oreo crumbs if you'd prefer. I just didn't have any Oreos, and I did have some brownies in the freezer from a while ago that were begging to be used. 

I've tried and failed in the past to make chocolate curls. This time, I used a web tutorial. They turned out really well! To learn more, you can go to the link I used by clicking here. The recipe for this pie was adapted from Use Real Butter. 

Chocolate Silk Pie

Yields: 9-12 servings 

Crust

2 cups Oreo (or brownie-- I used a mixture of both!) crumbs

4 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

Chocolate Mousse

8 oz dark chocolate

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

Whipped cream

2 cups whipping cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Chocolate curls

3 oz chocolate

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Butter a 9" springform or pie pan. 

2. In a food processor, crush Oreo cookies or brownies. Add the melted butter and sugar. (I omitted the sugar and butter because my brownies were very moist already-- not at all crumbly). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Mousse

3. Melt chocolate, stirring often, until smooth. Add vanilla and stir. 

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter for 1 minute on medium speed. Add sugar and beat for 4 minutes on medium speed. Add chocolate and beat until incorporated. 

5. Add 2 eggs and beat for 3 minutes. Add 3rd egg and beat for 3 more minutes. 

6. In a separate bowl, whip cream for 4 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream and mousse together until it's completely incorporated. 

7. Spread evenly on cooled crust. 

Whipped Cream

8. In a bowl, combine cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form. Pipe onto the pie or spread it evenly however you desire. 

Chocolate Curls

9. Look at this link for directions on how to make chocolate curls.

Croissants

I've long been afraid to attempt to make croissants. They seem unattainable... the layers, the flakiness, the golden color... Impossible, right? I tried to make croissants once before, and they didn't turn out as I wanted them to. These, however, turned out exactly how I wanted them to.

The best croissants I've ever had were at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. They're unbelievably delicious. These croissants (not to toot my own horn) actually taste almost exactly the same as Tartine's croissants to me.

I've been on a "baking high" all day. It's something I can only get from a successful attempt at a difficult and new recipe. Won't you join me in this baking high? These croissants take under 24 hours to make, which is wonderful, considering most recipes take 3 days. I adapted this recipe from Jellybean Journals.

Croissants

Yields: 16 croissants

Dough
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups milk (room temperature)
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 package)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sugar

Laminating
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

Egg wash
1 egg
1 tbsp cream or milk

1. Combine all of the dry dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir with a whisk. Add the wet ingredients. Mix with the dough hook for 3 minutes. Take the dough out and knead by hand for 30 seconds to smooth out the dough.

2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. I let mine rise in a room temperature oven.

3. Unwrap the butter and put into a quart ziplock or plastic wrap. Beat the butter until it's an 8x8" square. Put it back into the fridge until the dough is risen.

4. Watch this video 2:11-3:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OAUM0MRgQw This is how you laminate the dough. (This means you put the butter and "turn" the dough several times).

5. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

6. Divide the dough in half. Keep the second half wrapped in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Roll out half of the dough until it's 8" by 20". Cut it into 8 triangles. (You can watch the video to see how he cut his dough). I rolled each of my triangles out a little more before rolling them up.

7. Place on a silpat (or parchment)-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Mix the egg and cream together and brush on the croissants. Let rise for 1-2 hours.

8. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until desired golden color.

***Croissants can be frozen and heated up in a 350 degrees fahrenheit oven for 8 minutes.

Bon appétit!

Quick French Baguettes

Fresh bread.

Is there anything in the whole world that's better than fresh bread? [Hint: no]

I got a package of pans in the mail the other day. Amazon is magical, you guys. You just type in some stuff on your computer and real things come to your house. It's like there's a baking pan fairy. I ordered four tart pans, one madeleine pan, a mini cheesecake pan, and two baguette pans. 

It was a happy day, y'all. 

I found this recipe from Kelly Nixon that only takes 1 1/2 hours to make baguettes. It really only took me about an hour, because mine always rises faster than hers did. I've made this bread many times, using both a baguette pan and a baking sheet with a silpat. 

This bread is really crispy on the outside and warm, dense, and soft on the inside. 

The secret making the bread have a crispy crust?

Ice.

What?!

Yeah. Seriously. It works, you guys. It seems like steaming the bread should make the bread soggy, but it totally doesn't. It makes it crispy. Whoodathunkit?

Quick French Baguettes

Yields: 2 baguettes

1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (split)

2 tbsp honey

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

5 ice cubes

1. Combine honey with 1/2 cup warm water. Add the yeast and stir with your finger. Let it sit and activate for 5 minutes. 

2. Mix the flour and salt in a mixer. Add the water with the yeast and mix with the dough hook. Mix with the mixer for 1 minute, or until combined.

3. Pour out of mixer bowl onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 2-6 minutes, or until elastic. Do the fingerprint test. If you can press your finger very lightly into the dough and the dough pops back out slowly, it is elastic enough. Put it back in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 25-30 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Shape into 2 baguettes by trifolding the dough (like you fold a letter). Pinch the seam closed and repeat the process twice until it's about 14 inches in length. Fold the ends round. Set in a baguette pan or a lined cookie sheet (baking stone would probably work well too). Cover with a dish cloth and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Set an old (non-glass) baking dish on the bottom oven rack. 

6. When the rising is done and the oven is ready, quickly put the baguettes in the oven and throw the ice cubes into the old baking dish in the bottom. It should steam. 

7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Enjoy with Nutella.

Bon appétit!