Sandwiches are a very creative culinary field of study. The simplicity of the idea and utilitarianism of the subject matter makes modest the act of putting stuff between two slices of bread. More often then not, though, these sandwiches prove to be more than expected. Happiness prevails with a single bite into a well executed stacking of spreads, meats and cheeses, dressings and crisp greens. The palette of ingredients is endless. Your choice of bread becomes the launching board for exploration. The challenge of pairing your sandwich with the perfect adventure is an added layer of excitement.

So far in the Sac(k) we have explored variations of the sandwich: the basic roast chicken sandwich on Oatmeal bread, an egg salad sandwich with pea shoots, the classic italian grinder on a hoagie roll, the summer eggplant sandwich on sourdough, the cemita on a sesame bun, a pulled pork on brioche, a breakfast eggy sandwich and a chicken caesar wrap on naan. To that, I will add here, the Italian Brick Sandwich, a simple club and a BLT all made on a basic slab bread.

The concept of Beach Sandwiches has been a running joke for some time as it became a tag line for me while trying to sell bread in the summer heat. “Come get your bread for your beach sandwiches!” It always sounded silly but sold the bread. Whether you make sandwiches to eat on the beach specifically or not, they are brilliant adventure food and forever offer up a good time.

Below is a run through of some homemade sandwich condiments, along with a recipe for slab bread and some basic ideas about putting it all together. This is but a drop in the bucket of ideas but might get you thinking about sandwiches in a new light. Experiment, have fun and let me know what you come up with!

MAKING SLAB BREAD

Slab bread is a thinner cousin to ciabatta. It is hydrated extensively and shaped in a rough and rustic free form style. I would say the bread tends to be crust more than anything else. In the case of sandwiches this comes in handy as the bread doesn’t overbear, but instead acts as a fabulous vehicle for the piles of fillings. This bread calls for a poolish and sourdough like some of the other doughs. It is mixed and let to ferment a couple of hours with turns every 20 minutes before it is bulk fermented in the fridge overnight. The high hydration and long ferment lend to a lovely crust and flavor.

FORMULA:

900 GRAMS ARTISAN BAKERS FLOUR, 300 GRAMS HIGH PROTEIN FLOUR, 720 GRAMS WATER, 600 GRAMS POOLISH, 400 GRAMS LEVAIN, 3 GRAMS COMMERCIAL YEAST, 40 GRAMS SALT, 720 GRAMS SCALDED DURUM, 120 GRAMS OLIVE OIL, 300 GRAMS WARM BASSINAGE

PROCESS:

You will have to make you poolish and levain 5-7 hours before mixing your dough. Follow directions at the country sourdough page here.

You will also want to scald your durum flour and set to cool. To do this mix your durum flour with equal weight of boiling water. It will become a paste like mixture.

When your poolish and levain are ready mix your flour, water, poolish and levain together. Mix in your salt and commercial yeast with the warm bassinage. Let dough rest 10-15 minutes before adding in your olive oil and scalded durum flour. When mixing in the scaled durum and olive oil, alternate, for example, 1/3 of the durum, 1/3 oil and then durum and oil until it is all incorporated.

Ferment dough for 2 hours, turning every 20 minutes or so. Cover and place in the fridge over night.

The following day you will shape and bake the bread. Follow the video tutorial below for shaping the slab bread and flipping it on the board to load into the oven.

Bake at 450-500 degrees F until browned

SANDWICHES: ITALIAN BRICK SANDWICH, A CLUB AND A BLT

The Italian Brick Sandwich is a classic for wrapping up and heading out. It is conveniently wrapped in butcher paper, just waiting for that beach or mountain rock to weight it down and smash it into a manageable bite. It is layered with pesto, goat cheese or mozzarella, procuitto, roasted red peppers, pepperoncini, salami, provolone, artichoke hearts, basil, and a balsamic dressing made of balsamic vinegar, garlic and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t cut the slab, just wrap it in paper and place a brick or a heavy rock on it. Once smashed, unwrap, slice into the slab and enjoy.

THE MIGHTY CLUB:

I spread one side of bread with the mayonnaise and mustard and the other side with the tomato chutney. Layer on the ham and turkey with a provolone cheese. Tomatoes and sliced shallots. Crispy bacon. Sweet pickles. Lettuce or pea shoots. A drizzle of oil and salt and pepper to taste. This might not be completely traditional with the chutney and the pickles but it is quite lovely getting creative.

A SIMPLE BLT

This is a beach sandwich only if you are vacationing at the beach. But if you are vacationing at the beach it is a very delicious choice to sit and eat in the morning by the breaking waves. It is a simple sandwich with variations that are slight and often revolve around the bread. I, for one, am fond of a BLT on an english muffin. For the purposes of this tutorial we will use the slab bread, because we have it and I didn’t make english muffins. I would like to suggest that no matter what the bread, toast it and butter it so the butter melts into the mayo and chutney and mixes with the juice of the tomato. I did't do that for this tutorial and was not as happy with the results as I should have been. This BLT consists of mayonnaise, tomato chutney, bacon, lettuce and tomato.