Your favorite sandwich bread

Hey guys and gals!

I originally posted this in my other threat titled 'Your sandwich wish list' but think it got overlooked over all the excitement over your favorite sandwiches.  So, I am starting a new thread just for sandwich bread.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your input.  This is valuable information for me to use in my menu planning.

Original post:

About the bread...what are your thoughts on dutch crunch, focaccia and ciabatta breads.  I'm mention them specifically because of the "crunch" they each have.  I realize I would also need to offer breads such as rye, sourdough, italian, wheat, white, etc. but like the crunchy bread because of the extra "surprise" the bread offers.

Thanks again!

It really depends on the sandwich....

All of the breads you list there would make fantastic sandwiches.  BUT!  I wouldn't want to use any of them for a Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwich.... give me some plain old White Wonder Bread.

Texas Toast, I've yet to have a bad sandwich with it.

It certainly matters most what type of sandwich but I love dutch crunch...a nice thick rye or sourdough. One of my favorites is baking my own no-knead bread with a little kosher salt, rosemary and figs or apricots.

Martin's Famous Potato Rolls (and other bread items)   are outstanding.

a juicy burger with a martin's potato roll....absolutely scrumptuous

I will 2Nd Martin's still can remember as a young en and trying it for the first time. In China bread sucks other than million land loaf which is a white/wheat mix with sesame  on top actually stays well and soft enough to PB & J in the nuke r.

I have been bemoaning the fact that I cannot find Austin bakeries represented at my local markets. It is either the commercial brands or the store bakery. It is definitely the fresh baked crunch that I am searching for. Real, fresh bread toasts better and all my sandwiches are toasted.
For me this is unusual, coming from previous cities I was able to purchase reasonably priced and crusty bread that was produced by the local bakeries. They would share the same shelf space as the other breads. This obviously is true in SF and NOLA , but I was able to get better fresh bread in WATERBURY, CT!!! than here in Austin.
However the tortillas are incredibly fresh, as the store has a tortilla machine pumping out soft, pillowy tortillas. It is at the bread shelves that the local tortilla bakeries are overly represented.

mark

The absolute most vile bread in the world is Martin's potato rolls, makes me gag just thinking about it!   Nasty flavor, bread should taste like bread!

For a chicken sandwich or burger a nice poppy seed or onion roll.
For regular sandwiches a good "italian" sliced bread.
For subs, should have a slight crunch on the outside, soft inside, preferably toasted a bit on the meat side.

doggydaddy


I have been bemoaning the fact that I cannot find Austin bakeries represented at my local markets. It is either the commercial brands or the store bakery. It is definitely the fresh baked crunch that I am searching for. Real, fresh bread toasts better and all my sandwiches are toasted.
For me this is unusual, coming from previous cities I was able to purchase reasonably priced and crusty bread that was produced by the local bakeries. They would share the same shelf space as the other breads. This obviously is true in SF and NOLA , but I was able to get better fresh bread in WATERBURY, CT!!! than here in Austin.
However the tortillas are incredibly fresh, as the store has a tortilla machine pumping out soft, pillowy tortillas. It is at the bread shelves that the local tortilla bakeries are overly represented.

mark

When referring to good bread in "WATERBURY, CT!!" I assume you are talking about Milite Bakery.  Milite's bread is fantastic.  There are a couple deli's in the area that make their Italian Grinders on this.  There are three different sized loaves, and some of the deli's will make a full or half on any of them.

 The classic French Baguette is a personal favorite of mine. I use this for almost all of my sandwich needs. Sometimes I like a P.B.&J. on plain ole' white bread though.

David O.

Apparently there is a reason most people like their sandwiches cut diagonally:
http://www.npr.org/templa....php?storyId=120914097

It All Comes Down To Math
Consider the numbers, advises Paul Calter, emeritus professor of mathematics at Vermont Technical College. The amount of crust on a sandwich, he says, does not change, no matter how you cut it. But the amount of surface area without crust can change, depending on how many times you cut it and in which direction. 

If your bread is square, and if each side is 4 inches long, you have 16 inches of crust. Cut that bread down the middle, and you get 8 inches of crust-free surface. Cut that same bread diagonally, Calter calculates, and you end up with almost 11 inches of crustless surface. That's a substantial increase.

...also, another favorite bread of mine for sandwiches is Dutch Crunch...with some sharp Cheddar...mmmmm.

What is dutch crunch? I'm out of the loop.

Me too!

I'm glad to see that I am not the only one who doesn't know about dutch crunch.

OIC it is a West Coast thing.

I'm on the west coast and I've never heard of it. 
Interesting. :)

edit:
 here we go
 California Eatin': Dutch Crunch in the Bay Area | Serious Eats

Wah!!!!!???? I totally thought people knew about Dutch Crunch. Seriously one of the best sandwich breads, it's amazing! Apparently it's also known as Tiger Bread:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_bread

Never heard of it - I love a good French baguette or Mennonite White and Wheat bread for sandwiches usually.

I really had no idea....you are all missing out...I feel so bad

Is the wiki piece correct about it being baked and sold around SF mainly?

Apparently so....I had no idea. I thought it a normal choice of bread. I swear I've seen it elsewhere. I'll keep my eyes open now that I know.   

too jays deli rye bread
a good bagel
jamaiican hardough bread by yummy
martins potato rolls

In 42 years in Fresno I'd never heard of Dutch crunch either. Fresno is what, about 150 miles S of SF?

I too really enjoy potato bread.

I prefer "{Soft") Bread for sandwiches NOT Crusty bread. Crusty bread is too hard to handle & eat in a sandwich. It Cuts or digs into the roof of your mouth and chunks wedge in between your teeth. They're too hard to chew as well. I like my Crusty bread with room temp butter and a spreading knife---thgat's it!

That's what's perfect about Dutch Crunch....the outer crust is only slightly tough and it's got the cracks already in it so it breaks much easier. It doesn't cut the roof of your mouth at all...and it's deliciously soft in the middle.

Pepperidge Farm, Whole Grain Bread
100% Whole Wheat
Hearty Texture
(4grams of fibre per slice)

To my mind the absolute best bread for sandwiches is -- oh, wait. That would depend on the type of sandwich, wouldn't it?
 
For a submarine sandwich I consider the submarine shaped loaf of Italian bread that gave the sandwich its name is best. That's a loaf found mainly in Connecticut.
 
For a toasted cheese sandwich (which many people refer to as a grilled cheese sandwich) it has to be a Wonder Bread type bread for me.
 
For pastrami and corned beef it must be corn rye. For liverwurst it has to be pumpernickel. For fried bologna I want a hamburger bun and for a hot dog a split-top New England-style bun or nothing.
 
I could go on, but I try to ration my brilliance.

NYPIzzaNut


Is the wiki piece correct about it being baked and sold around SF mainly?

Interestingly I grew up in the Sf Bay Area and we ate at lots of delis and visited lots of bakeries and I had not heard of either Dutch Crunch or Tiger Bread...

BUT... in Boston (Arlington actually), we had Dutch Crunch at the local deli.

Here in the UK we have Tiger Bread! (Three different kinds, mainly varying by the sizes...) Photo coming up.

My current (yes expired!) Tiger bread, the mini loaf.



p.s. Note how cheap bread is over here... very lucky that way!

For grilled cheese or a chicken club, Cincinnati, Ohio's Shadeau Bakery's sandwich white. Tightly grained, not too sweet it turns a beautiful gold with just the right crunch whether coming from the toaster or a lovely butter bath from the griddle.  Their sandwich rye is darn good too.

I think I had an unorthodox bahn mi on a tiger loaf instead of a squishy baguette last time I was in SF. Just wish I could remember where....