Daring Bakers: Dutch Crunch Bread

 Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

I had never heard of Dutch Crunch Bread before.  Apparently it is very popular as a sandwich roll in the San Francisco Bay area - I have been there are few times but have not run across this before.  As you can probably guess from the name, this bread originated in the Netherlands where it is known as tijgerbrood or tijgerbol (Tiger Bread) because of its strange appearance.  Well I love good bread and I love a good sandwich so I was all over this challenge.

The bread recipe was mostly a typical bread recipe until it came to the end.  Before you stick it in the oven you mix up a rice batter - like a bread dough recipe but very thin - and spread it on the rolls.  It is one of those recipes where you just have to wonder how someone ever came up with it.  In the oven the rice batter cracks as it dries and gives the bread a very distinct look.

I can't say my bread looked as nice as some of the others doing the challenge but it still looked cool.  Not sure if I would really call it a crunch but the topping does add a different texture and it also adds quite a bit of flavor to the bread as well.  It is also kind of a messy bread to eat as the topping kind of crumbles as you eat it.  I did enjoy it and will make sure to try to find some next time I am in San Francisco to see if what I made is anywhere close to the real thing.

The challenge was to make a unique sandwich with our bread.  Not sure I really made anything unique.  We are having such a beautiful early spring here in Minnesota so I just decided to grill up some chicken breast with Cajun spices and topped it with some avocado, tomato, and lettuce - not anything very original but it was delicious!

If you would like to try making Dutch Crunch Bread yourself check out the recipe titled "Lions, Tigers, and Bears, oh my" in the Daring Bakers Recipe Archive.

Barefoot Bloggers: Ultimate Grilled Cheese

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese is the Barefoot Blogger bonus recipe this month. Ina Garten has a new cookbook coming out called How Easy Is That? and we get to try out some of the recipes early. I almost didn't try this recipe since it called for a panini press. A panini press is one of those things that might be cool to have but I would only use it a few times a year and it would be taking up room all year so I don't get one. I thought I would see if I could make it without a press.

Instead of the press I just made it in a heavy pan and pressed it down with my spatula. The sandwiches were good but I had a few problems with it. The cheese didn't completely melt - I will assume this is because I didn't use a press. It was also a little salty for me - should have left the salt out. Other than that they were great. I also didn't notice until I got home from the store that it called for aged Gruyere - I am sure it would have been even better if I had got the right cheese.

Thanks to Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake for this months bonus recipe. Looks like she got away without a press too.

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

(Source: How Easy is That? by Ina Garten)

serves 6

Ingredients

• 12 slices thick-cut bacon, such as Nodine’s applewood smoked
• 1 cup good mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 white pullman loaf or sourdough bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick (12 slices)
• 6 tbsp salted butter, at room temperature
• 6 oz aged Gruyere or Comte cheese
• 6 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, such as Cabot or Shelburne Farms

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the bacon on a baking rack set over a sheet pan in a single layer and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and cut in 1-inch pieces.
2. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Lay 12 slices of bread on a board and spread each one lightly with butter. Flip the slices and spread each one generously with the mayonnaise mixture. Don’t neglect the corners!
3. Grate the cheeses in a food processor fitted with the largest grating disk and combine. Distribute the bacon evenly on half the slices of bread. Pile 1/3 cup grated cheese evenly on top of the bacon and top with the remaining bread slices, sauce side down.
4. Heat an electric panini press. When the press is hot, cook the sandwiches for 3 to 5 minutes in batches until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted. Allow to cool for 2 minutes. Cut in half and serve warm.

Barefoot Bloggers: Caesar Club Sandwich

If I had to pick my favorite food a good sandwich has to be high on the list. It is hard to beat a good New York sub or a Bánh mì. Even though I say this a good sandwich like this is something I never make.

I did make a few changes when I put this together. Since I can't ever seem to find arugula I ended up just using some leaf lettuce. Also I knew my wife wouldn't like the sun-dried tomatoes so I left those off as well. I know it would have been better without those changes but I can say that this was a terrific sandwich even with the changes I made. This has to be one of my favorite Barefoot Blogger recipes so far.

Thanks to Karen of Shortbread for this pick - I really liked this one. And check out her blog for lots of southern cooking. I have to try the ham salad recipe she has listed for another sandwich.

Caesar Club Sandwich

(Source: Barefoot Contessa at Home)

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
• 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise
• 1 large ciabatta bread
• 2 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
• 12 sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
• 2 to 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan skin side up. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Cool slightly, discard the skin and bones, and slice the meat thickly. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, place the pancetta on another sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.
4. Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until minced. Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise and process again to make a smooth dressing. (Refrigerate the Caesar dressing if not using it immediately.)
5. Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from the bottom. Toast the bread in the oven, cut side up, for 5 to 7 minutes; cool slightly. Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugula on the bottom piece of bread and then layer in order: the sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, crispy pancetta, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and finish with another layer of arugula. Place the top slice of ciabatta on top and cut in thirds crosswise. Serve at room temperature.

Barefoot Bloggers: Croque Monsieur

I was very excited when I saw Croque Monsieur for this months recipe. We took a three week trip a few years ago to Europe (England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France) and I loved the food everywhere except for the food in Paris. I am sure it was my fault for not researching enough and finding where we should have gone to eat. Paris was very "touristy" - at least in the tourist areas where we were and I think the food at the places we went was low quality and high price. Well I know that was not what French food was supposed to be so I was excited to try this.

Croque Monsieur is basically just a ham and cheese sandwich - a very fancy ham and cheese with high quality ingredients. You start by making a cheese sauce. The cheese sauce was very good and I probably could have just eaten that by itself. The cheese sauce get poured over a ham and Gruyere sandwich and more cheese is put on top. I decided to make up some homemade french fries to go with.

The Croque Monsieur was very good but I did have a few issues with them. The thing that hurt it the most for me was that I thought it was way too salty. I didn't notice anything being too salty by itself but I think the saltiness of the cheese combined with the saltiness of the ham was a little overwhelming. I think next time I would get rid of the added salt in the cheese sauce and maybe use a ham other than Virginia ham which can be a little salty.

My other issue was the bread I used. I bought a good bread but I thought it was maybe a little thin. I read on other blogs of people using baguettes and things like that which I think may have been a good idea.

It also didn't help that I over did my French Fries. I new I should have trusted my instinct and not believed the 12 minute cook time that was on our fryer.

Overall I think the recipe was a winner - I just might play with it a little next time. Thanks to Kathy of All Food Considered for this months pick.

Croque Monsieur

(Source: Barefoot in Paris, page 48)

Serves 4-8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

1. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
2. To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
3. Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.