Avocado And Melted Swiss On Salsa Bread, The Sandwich I Never Had?

The day before I fell ill, I began  preparations for A Special Sandwich.  The actual assembly of the sandwich took minutes. But, making the bread was another matter.  It was all due to a cookbook Bob bought me for Christmas called Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings by Margaux Sky.  You may remember all the publicity when Oprah deemed her "the best sandwich maker in America".   The cookbook certainly shows why Oprah felt that way. These are not your average sandwiches at all. For one thing, the breads are quite distinctive. I was intrigued with one, called salsa bread, and decided to make it for a sandwich in the book, for New Year's Day. Unfortunately, I was struck down by the demon stomach flu several days before New Year's Day.  While I was unable to eat the sandwich, I was able to construct one for Bob, to eat as he watched the Rose Bowl. The picture above is bad (I toasted the bread too much)--but be kind and remember that I was very sick when I made it.  Bob assured me that it was delicious and made nice appreciative noises as he ate it.    Then I went back to my recliner and fell asleep.

Let me say that I would not make the breads in the book for everyday consumption. They're too rich. But they're intriguing recipes and I will pull them out on occasion. The book has recipes for Roasted Red Pepper-Mint-Brie-Bread, Rosemary-Sage Whole Wheat, and Ginger-Goat Cheese Whole Wheat, among many others.  If you love making bread, you'll find this book very interesting. 

As I said, the breads are rich.  I began by sprinkling 1 tablespoon yeast on warm milk, sugar, and half and half, then added melted butter after the yeast was foamy.  This mixture was kneaded, along with flour and salt, in my Mixmaster for about 4 minutes.  This makes a moist, sticky dough, somewhat like brioche.

When the dough came out of the Mixmaster, it had a different appearance than standard dough, softer and less elastic.  It was sticky, but after it rose for 60 minutes, the dough was very easy to deal with.  You can see how soft it was in the picture.  This amount of dough makes two loaves.

I rolled my dough out into a rectangle 9" by 11" and scattered drained salsa and pepperjack cheese onto the surface and rolled it up jelly roll fashion.  Next time, I will roll it even tighter. Also, after I drained my salsa, it was less than the specified 2 cups, so I would make sure I had the full measure next time. 

After you roll the bread, make sure you pinch it to seal any seams.

The bread rises for 60 minutes, then gets an egg wash, and is baked for 60 minutes in a 400 degree oven. The long baking time gives the crust a thick, chewy texture. And the flavor imparted by the salsa and cheese is very good.  But, it could do with just a bit more salsa in it, (my fault).

The white dough recipe makes enough for 2 loaves of bread. I baked the other other loaf as just plain white bread. It's tender, yet resiliant with a tight crumb and would be excellant for hamburger buns or hot dog rolls.  I enjoyed a tuna sandwich made with it (pre-stomach flu, of course).  The bread is blindingly white, due to the large amount of milk in the recipe, I think.   The book also includes whole wheat and rye bread recipes.

All that for a sandwich I never had the pleasure to eat!  I hear it was delicious.  The rest of the bread is in the freezer, so I'll have one eventually.

Avocado And Melted Swiss On Salsa Bread  (Margaux Sky)

Basic White Dough

2 cups warm milk
2 cups warm half and half
1/4 cup stick butter melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra if necessary
2 tablespoons salt
1 egg
2 Tablespoons water

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and half and half until the yeast has begun to bubble a bit (about 5 minutes).  Then add the melted butter and powdered sugar and mix well.

Put the flour and salt in a bowl or stand mixer and slowly add the liquid.  Knead very well. The resulting dough will be moist, almost sticky.

Place the kneaded dough in a buttered large bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let is rise in a warm, draft free place for about 60 minutes or until it's doubled.

Punch it down and divide into 2 equal portions. 

Making the salsa Bread

1 portion white dough bread
2 cups drained salsa
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
1 egg, beaten well and whisked together with 2 Tablespoons water

Roll one portion of the dough into a 9 by 11 inch rectangle. Scatter the salsa and cheese on the surface.  Begin to roll the bread, jelly roll fashion, folding the edges as you go--like a burrito.  Place the finished rolled bread into a well buttered 9 inch bread pan. Let the bread rise, covered, in a  warm place for about 60 minutes.

When doubled, brush the loaf with the egg and water mix and place the loaf in a preheated oven set at 400 degrees.  Bake for 60 minutes or until the bread has a hollow thump.

Making the Sandwich

Avocado and Melted Swiss On Salsa Bread

2 Tablespoons soft butter
4 slices salsa bread
1 cup guacamole
2 thick slices swiss cheese
1 cup salsa
1 cup spring greens

Butter the bread and toast it in a hot skillet on both sides, then slice diagonally.  Spread some guacamole on each slice of bread.  Melt the swiss cheese in a microwave until runny and spread it on the guacamole.  Drain the salsa and sprinkle some of it on the sandwiches.  Place some baby lettuce on top of the salsa, then top with the other slices of bread.  Serve extra salsa on the side.

Comments

[Tanna]

Shucks, I was hoping not to find another book to lust after. That sandwich looks amazing. So sorry you got the bug.
Great photo, sick or not, it is a great photo

[Julie]

I can't believe that you were making sandwiches and taking pictures of them in the middle of having the flu. You're a trooper. And that photo looks delicious!

I hope you're feeling better. Ringing in the New Year with the flu seems like the universe playing a cruel practical joke.

[Glenna]

Oh wow! Really yummy looking. Would be the perfect breakfast, all creamy and toasty. Yum!

[Jeff]

Man that bread looks TOO good...I've been bakin' a ton of bread lately :)

[gattina]

Sher,
your white bread really very white, I love it! Can you please tell me which brand of flour you use?
The richness in the bread looks acceptable to me, fat mainly is from that half-n-half, but consider 8 cups of flour, really not bad :)
Your avocado sandwich reminds me another one I used to eat... slice avocado + spring greens + pin nuts + butter... totally sensational in the first bite. Hope you totally recover and able to eat anything you like!

[Callipygia]

Sher- I can't believe that you had the fortitude to create such creations of beauty while/before being sick! While not much of a "bread person"- these sound so good...so many great ideas out there. Must get eating!

[Ivonne]

Sher,

For starters your sandwich is AMAZING!

I found your comments about the book interesting. I bought it a few months ago and while I'm intrigued by many of the recipes, I found the one that I tried didn't work out. I tried to make the cinnamon raisin bread and the loaves I ended up with were massive. It seemed to me that the instructions in the book weren't correct.

I'll give it another try, but I agree that these are not breads you would make every day!

[sher]

Tanna,

Thank you about the photo. I think the sandwich looks burnt!!! I don't think it tasted that way--at least Bob didn't complain!

Julie,

Yes, it's a bit insane that I did that--making a sandwich while I was sick!!! Who does that?? A food blogger!!! I am feeling better--had milk for the first time today!! Alert the press!

Glenna,

Oh yes! Very nice for breakfast!!! Or a grilled cheese sandwich!

Jeff,

Well, this bread book may be the one for you!! They're perfect for someone who wants a challenge!

Gattina,

I used King Arthur all-purpose unbleached flour. It makes very good sandwich bread, I must say. Normally I would use bread flour, but this recipe called for all-purpose. Your sandwich sounds even better. I love eating anything with pine nuts in it! Thank you for your best wishes--I am getting better. I want fish this Friday!

Callipygia,

Thank you--but I think my trusty Mixmaster deserves most of the credit. :):) If it were a person.....I would shower it with kisses! And I don't what I was thinking to make that sandwich while I was sick. (And now my husband is sick too--do you think it was the sandwich?)

Ivonne,

I'm not surprised at your comments. As I was making the basic white dough, I wondered if the bread would turn out properly. The instructions are somewhat vague. I had to look at the pictures in the book to get a better idea of what texture the dough should be, for instance. But, the bread turned out very nice. Like yours, my loaves were HUGE. I was rather astonished. But, I think she devised bread recipes meant for showy sandwiches in a restaurant.

Also, I wondered if I would be able to get the baked loaf out of my pan--but it slid out easily. Despite these concerns, I found the recipes very interesting and I would like to try one of the whole wheat loaves. However, I'm not going to make the full 8 loaf recipe! By the way, thanks for the input, I'm going to edit my post to reflect some of them.

[Garrett]

uuuhhhh, yum! That sammich looks mighty tasty sher!

[aria]

sher, i think that sammy is just perfect!! wow, so impressed with your bread baking skills. the dough looks so soft and perfect. i can imagine how yummy cream in the mix would be. sounds like a great book :)

[Joy T.]

I've never tried an avocado but this sure makes me want to try one. Yummers!

[kristi]

I love pictures of bread-making. Someday, I'll start to make my own again. In the meantime, I'll just live vicariously though your amazing photos. I hope you're feeling better!

[Terry B]

The sandwich looks fabulous! And avocado is delicious on just about anything. My wife recently sliced up some leftover pork tenderloin and made sandwiches on a crusty rye bread with lots of avocado. They. Were. Amazing.

[ann]

wowee keflowee! salsa bread! now i've heard of everything.... now if only i could taste it... cheesey, spicey bread. YUM.

[s'kat]

What an intriguing sandwich! And how lucky is your husband that you GET UP FROM YOUR DEATHBED to make him such a wonderful sandwich?!

It sounds like you need a New Year's "do-over".

[Lisa]

I'm going to chime in that I can't believe you could bake those beautiful breads while having the stomach flu! I would be just lying there, groaning.

That last photo of the sandwich is so good -- all that melty cheese, the colors of the avocado, tomato, bread, etc. I just ate leftover blackyed peas, rice, and greens, yet I now crave an avocado sandwich.