Sourdough Sandwich Bread

I think 2020 easily wins the title Year of the Sourdough!  Everyone was baking sourdough breads and for good reason.  If you run out of yeast and can't get to the store but have plenty of flour on hand, within a week you can have a nice sourdough starter ready to make a wide variety of sourdough delights!  However, there is another reason to use sourdough.  It is easily digested so for those like myself not tolerating commercial breads, sourdough is very well tolerated.  If you have this problem, another bread line to try if you don't like the tang of sourdough is bread made with sprouted flours.   Of note, sprouted flours should not be used for sourdough but both are very good options.

Most folks think of sourdough artisan breads as rustic boules, often with fancy cut lines and for the most part they are.  The aeroles are large, the crust chewy and there's that unmistakable tang.  Sourdough bread does make a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich!

Keeping a sourdough starter means daily feeding that result in sourdough discard.  It's called discard because it is not active enough for bread baking but that doesn't mean you can't use it.  Some folks toss this discard while others bake other goodies with it.  I have two starters which means I have a lot of sourdough discard!  One of the ways I like to use this discard is sourdough sandwich bread.

This particular recipe uses a sourdough levain.  A levain is made using sourdough discard and other ingredients, then left to ripen for 12 hours prior to making the bread.  Unlike the sourdough artisan breads, this bread has no characteristic tang.  It's soft with small aeroles.  The only difference between the two loaves is one was brushed with butter while still hot and the other not.  I wanted to see which one we liked better.  Definitely brushed with butter was the winner!

I tested the bread by making grilled cheese sandwiches.  Mine was filled with two cheeses, swiss chard, red onions and roast beef.  Hubby's was a Monte Cristo (French toast) filled with two cheeses and roast beef slices.  Both sandwiches were amazing!  Of note, this sandwich bread has a higher longevity of close to a week in comparison to artisan sourdough bread that usually lasts three days maximum.  Any leftover sandwich bread can easily be made into croutons or bread crumbs.
 

Ciabatta Sandwiches

Years ago, I relished running about a block from our house to our local bakery.  I could see the roof of the bakery from my bedroom window!  It was one of my favourite local haunts.  I could always tell when they were baking fresh bread as the aroma filled the air.  At that time, a loaf of fresh baked bread cost 50¢.  The local bakery had the best doughnuts I've ever tasted.  They also made a limited variety of buns, mainly dinner rolls and crusty rolls.

The beloved bakery of my childhood is no more, having ceased the bakery portion of operations several years ago.  I still love fresh baked breads, most of them homemade.  Our local No Frills brings in fresh made breads (preservative free) from a bakery the next town over.  Their breads are very good, made much the same as I do at home with fresh ingredients and no preservatives, artificial colours or flavourings and no HFCS.

Ciabatta bread (slipper bread) is an Italian yeast bread traditionally formed into elongated, broad, flat loaves.  This bakery makes ciabatta bread but shaped into triangular buns, perfect for sandwiches.

The kids were down for a visit so I used ciabatta buns for make-your-own sandwiches for lunch.  Make-your-own sandwiches always go over well.  I borrowed the idea from various luncheons we have attended.  Instead of actually making the sandwiches then serving, the components are set out on serving trays along with condiments for each person to assemble their sandwich as they choose.  This presentation was quite popular with out kids and continues to be popular with our grandkids as well as guests.

I filled one serving tray with ciabatta buns (above).  Another tray held rolled cooked turkey breast slices, Swiss and cheddar cheeses.  Any lunch meat or cheese slices would have worked.  The meat and cheese tray can be made as simple or as elabourate as desired but I usually keep it simple.

The topping tray can vary as well.  I usually add lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Red or green leaf lettuce adds just the perfect crunch and flavour.  Romain lettuce works nicely too as do other salad greens.  I normally don't  use iceberg lettuce as it doesn't have much flavour.  I also like using red onions as they add a bit of colour along with flavour.  There are so many varieties of slicing tomatoes that add not only colour but also flavour.   I prefer the heirloom slicing tomato varieties but there are a few good hybrids as well.

Not pictured are the additional condiments like mayonnaise, mustard, and horseradish.  Fresh alfalfa sprouts, mustard greens and pickles are also a nice addition but really anything goes.  A separate pickle or vegetable tray works nicely to complete the meal. 
 

The ciabatta buns make rather large sandwiches, larger than a good sized burger.  It is a rather filling sandwich but lower in fat and calories.  The assembled ciabatta bun sandwiches were delightfully delicious served with fresh baby cucumber pieces and Best Bread & Butter Pickles. 

Little Miss A, our second grandkid really enjoyed creating her own ciabatta sandwich.  Even cut in half, it was still triangular shape like the adults.  Part of the fun for kids is letting them make their own choices as to what they want to put on their sandwiches.  The make-your-own sandwich presentation is very kid friendly!  Simply put healthy choices on the serving platters then let them make their own creations.  It's a fun way to get your kids to eat healthy with very little effort.

Shredded Rump Roast Sandwiches

Last Wednesday I removed the last of the beef and venison from the large chest freezer then unplugged it for cleaning in preparation for the arrival of our beef on the hoof purchase.  If you are not familiar with that term, it means buying the cow when it is still a calf.  The calf is raised grass fed and hormone free by one of our friends then we arrange to take it to slaughter at an abattoir we have dealt with for years.   We pay our friend directly for the actual cow, then pay a butcher & disposal fee and a cut & wrap fee to the abattoir.  The abattoir last Friday that our beef was ready so it is a good thing I had the freezer cleaned and ready for filling yesterday when I picked up the beef.
 

The final roast from last year's purchase was a rump roast.  This is a tougher cut of beef suitable for braising.  I used the pressure cooker to tenderize the roast much the same as I did for the round roast except I used more Sweet Baby Rays and no water for a thick, rich sauce.  My intent was to can up the shredded beef but there was only enough to fill about four 500 ml jars, hardly worth running the pressure canner so I made shredded rump roast sandwiches with half of the meat mixture and froze the remainder.  Shredded meat freezes nicely and reheats well.  It is an ideal quick start for a variety of meals.

Shredded beef or pork are long time ribfest favourites as well as being a popular southern US states' restaurants popular menu item usually as a sandwich meat.   However, you can make shredded meat for sandwiches from other meats like venison, moose and chicken.  

The meat is cooked long and slow usually on a wood fired barbecue.  I prefer using the outdoor grill in the warm weather and the pressure cooker in the cooler weather but you can get similar results using the oven or slow cooker.  The meat is ready for shredding when it falls off the bone and is melt in your mouth tender then shredded using two forks.  Once shredded the meat can be used as is, or cooked further slowly in the oven with a braising sauce (eg. bbq sauce or au jus) or either may be served topping the shredded meat or as a dipping sauce.  You can use a commercial or homemade bbq sauce, gravy or simply seasonings to get a tasty au jus.  

I served the shredded rump roast on soft Kaiser buns with homemade Miracle Whip, red leaf lettuce, Provolone cheese and a thin slice on onion.  It was a tasty sandwich, packed full of flavour!  The sandwiches looked lovely as well.

Philly Cheese Steak

Years ago one of our quick meals was philly cheese steak.  M & M Meat Shops sold boxes of the prepared meat, thin cut and ready to cook for this delicious sandwich.  Unfortunately, they no longer sell the philly cheese steak meat so there are three ways to get it: slice it yourself, have the butcher shop slice it for you or buy from a restaurant supply.  The key thing about the meat is it is very thinly sliced.

My husband brought home philly cheese steaks for dinner a couple of nights ago.  A very good fried of ours and experienced restauranteur who's specialty is English style fish and chips has just opened a snack bar.  She is from England and oh my gosh you should taste her steak and kidney pies!

Philly cheese steak is a type of sandwich using very thinly sliced beef with a cheese sauce.  She makes the cheddar cheese sauce from scratch which is basically a thick white sauce with cheddar cheese added.  Sautéed green peppers and onion add a lovely flavour.  The filling is piled into a toasted hot dog bun.  She makes her philly cheese steaks very similar to the way I make mine. 

One of my kitchen splurge this spring is an electric meat slicer.  I have been convinced I need one of these for quite some time for custom cutting thin, uniform sandwich meat slices.   As kitchen appliances go, a meat slicer is not expensive.  Canadian Tire put them on sale for $69 a couple of times a year.  It is an extremely useful appliance if you are like us, using whole cuts of meat we cure and cook or simply cook rather than buying store bought.  The slicer will compliment my big kitchen splurge this year, a smoker!  I am so excited...

My New Panini Grill

My husband surprised me with a new panini grill last Friday evening!  We've had electric sandwich makers in the past meant as a substitute for cast iron sandwich makers for use on a campfire.  They electrical sandwich makers were inexpensive ones that did not last well.  After the last one went I decided to go back to my trusty fry pans.  From time to time I mentioned getting a panini press but never acted on it because the beds on most models were family sized not couple sized.  Well apparently this one was on sale that met what I wanted so he bought it.

A panini grill differs from a regular sandwich maker in several ways.  There are no pre-determined compartments to limit the resulting sandwich.   A floating hinge allows you to grill thicker sandwiches.  The lid is quite heavy to give different results that a regular sandwich maker, more of a pressing action.  A panini grill  gives beautiful, distinctive grill marks on the outside of the sandwich without the use of butter reducing fat content.   It also presses the sandwich more than a sandwich maker would. 

This panini press (grill) is made by Toastess International.  It has a smaller bed size for making two sandwiches at a time rather than four just perfect for two people.  Watch for a lot of great sandwiches coming from my new panini grill.  Here's one to get your mouth watering.

The first panini sandwiches to come out of the panini grill were the classic turkey and ham with Swiss cheese panini.  Notice the deeper grill marks from the press.  To make a panini sandwich all you have to do is put the filling between two slices of bread and pop it onto the panini grill.  There is no need to butter the outsides of the sandwich.  Now that doesn't sound like a lot but if an average grilled sandwich used 1 tbsp of butter on the outside, using a panini grill eliminates 1 tbsp of butter right off the bat!  The end result is a sandwich that is hot a juicy on the inside without all the extra fat on the outside.  It is a very different result than that of a sandwich maker. 

Salad Greens and Steak Rub

My husband arrived home late Wednesday from an event he had organized. As a side benefit the left over food was split amongst the guys who wanted it. This meant an influx of foods like processed lunch meats, pre-sliced cheeses, store bought bread and a few snack type items. While the cheeses and unopened snacks will keep for a couple of weeks the opened packages and lunch meats won't. So we are in sandwich mode!

Salad Greens

My raised garden beds have been progressing nicely despite a late start. Pictured are my four square feet of salad greens. Aren't they gorgeous? In the top left corner is Chinese mustard. Next to that is Grand Rapids leaf lettuce. The two squares at the bottom is mesclun mix. Look at how much produce is coming out of 4 square feet! With reseeding after each cutting we will have more than ample salad greens to last us until first frost. This is a huge savings considering we eat salad almost daily! More importantly the greens are fresher than anything you can buy in the grocery stores. The taste is unbeatable! I snip the greens as I need them within minutes of serving. I rinse well with a light spray so as to not bruise the greens. Then I pat dry between two t-towels before using.

Sandwiches

During the summer months we love power sandwiches. These are sandwiches made with home grown produce on homemade whole grain breads using home cooked meats with cheese but the real focus is on the vegetables. Garden fresh vegetables include cucumber, tomatoes, onions and salad greens. Fresh from the pantry is alfalfa sprouts.

Well, thanks to the influx of food I had almost a loaf of whole wheat bread to use up along with the cheeses and lunch meats. So I made a modified version of power sandwiches. I paired turkey breast lunch meat with Swiss cheese and Grand Rapids lettuce for my husband sandwiches pictured in the top picture. I would have added tomatoes if I had them but mine are setting fruit and I'm not buying store bought if at all possible. Why? Home grown tomatoes taste so much better so I'll wait with much anticipation!

I made a roast beef and cheddar cheese sandwich on whole wheat with Grand Rapids lettuce and Chinese mustard. The Chinese mustard adds a nice mild, peppery flavour. It's important when growing Chinese mustard to not let the plant leaves get too large or they will be bitter and to let one plant go to seed to collect for the following growing season.

Prep & Cooking

Thursday night we had New York Strip steaks for dinner. Normally steaks are grilled and served without sauce or seasonings to let the flavour of the organic, hormone free beef shine though. This time I decided to get a bit creative with mine by using a rub. A rub is a mixture of dry ingredients consisting usually of salt, sugar, spices and/or herbs. What a rub does is adds a lot of flavour similar to a marinade. You can use a pre-made mixture or make your own.

I used Dean Jacobs's Savory Mesquite rub for this steak that was part of a gift package I received. Ingredients in the rub blend are "salt, spices, onion, garlic, mesquite flavor, caramel color, natural flavorings and silicon dioxide". This is precisely what I don't like about some commercial blends as the spices and natural flavourings are not specified which could be a problem for anyone with food sensitivities or food allergies. I am going to start experimenting with homemade rubs so watch for more on that in future posts.

Using a rub is rather easy. The prepared rub is simply sprinkled onto the meat then rubbed in. The meat is then refrigerated to let the seasonings penetrate throughout the meat. Once the meat has been seasoned it is time to grill. As you can see there is a definite difference between plain meat and meat with a rub on the grill. Both steaks were cooked to medium rare.

Method: To use a rub, place the meat on a cutting board. Sprinkle the rub over the meat then with a gentle rotating motion rub it into the meat covering all sides. Place in a zipper style bag and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Savory Mesquite Steak

Both the seasoned and unseasoned New York strip steaks were grilled to medium rare. Sides included home canned green beans, frozen cauliflower and pickled beets. The steaks were garnished with caramelized onions.

In a comparison taste test my husband preferred the unseasoned steak. His two complaints were the salty taste and the mesquite flavour. I liked the flavour but not the salty taste. One reason both of us immediately noticed the salt is because we use so little of it and when we do it is sea salt (Mediterranean, French Grey, Alaca Hawaiian) or Himalayan pink salt depending on the food. Unlike regular iodized salt that adds that salty taste the aforementioned salts add flavour as well.

This experiment gave me an idea of where to start with homemade rubs. I know the salt I use will likely be a sea salt and only in the amount to add flavour without being overpowering. Experimenting with homemade rubs should be a lot of fun!