October 25, 2015

Crusty Italian Sandwich Rolls

Name: Crusty Italian Sandwich Rolls
Prep time: 1030 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups 320 grams unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast; 3/4 to 1 cup warm water (about 100-105 F); 2 1/2 cups 320 grams unbleached all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt; 1 Tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon instant yeast; 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 3/4 to 1 cup warm water (100-105 F); Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting; 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water for egg wash; 1 cup hot water for steam pan

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If you’re like us, going to the time and effort to make a delicious sandwich, then you don’t want to compromise your bread, you’ll want something like Crusty Italian Sandwich Rolls to hold your tasty filling. This bread has a crispy crust but with a soft interior that doesn’t crumble. And it certainly won’t injure the roof of your mouth with too crisp of a crust nor will it take ages to chew and swallow.

These Italian sandwich rolls are a type of sub or hoagie rolls that are made in the style of a classic Italian bread. This isn’t the typical bread they call Italian bread in the US — it’s more like the Italian bread made in the rustic tradition.

We went on a quest to find the perfect bread for our Picante Italian Beef – Chicago Style. When I’m looking for bread recipes the first book I go to is Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. When I started seriously baking bread this is the first book I bought and, believe me, it has been well used. He is an absolute genius with bread and I trust his recipes and directions — they are thorough and easy to follow.

Growing up, homemade bread was very important in our household. Several times a week I can remember our house filled with the aroma of bread baking. I’ll never forget our first reaction to commercial bread. You know the kind I’m talking about — it has the colored balloons on the outside and inside you find perfectly uniform slices. That day Mamma reached inside the loaf and took out a slice for each of us. It was as light as a feather and looked like a cloud surrounded by a brown ridge. We took a bite and chewed. We looked at each other and then took another bite and slowly chewed. No-one spoke.

Finally, my papà broke the silence, “Ma che cos’è?” (But what is it?)

The bread was spongy, snow white and quite tasteless. It certainly wasn’t the hearty bread we were used to! Needless to say, mamma and papà didn’t buy any more commercial bread. Instead, mamma made all the bread that we ate at home. When I was at school I ate what was offered, although it wasn’t always easy. The taste and texture of many of the foods were totally foreign. The first time I had beef stew I gagged — I couldn’t eat it. I think it was something about the taste of the carrots. 🙁

The Crusty Italian Sandwich Rolls recipe is a two-day recipe, this is optimal for the best taste. You can fudge a little and do it in one day — but letting the flavors develop overnight will give you the greatest flavor. To begin with, you make a starter or a biga. The following day you make the dough, form the rolls and then bake. Treat yourself and your family to some homemade Crusty Italian Sandwich Rolls.

Tutti a tavola è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima.