Sandwich Bread, round 2

Two weeks ago Mo and I made a command performance for Gaby's son E. and his friends from summer daycare. They walked and got pulled in a buggy over to one of the gardens where the interns work, and after E. gave rowdy introductions we took a quick tour around the formal garden before settling down for lunch. A few of the kids were very young, but for the most part they were about three years old. One of the older kids, N., has apparently been tricking his friends into believing that he doesn't like to eat his sandwiches. (I say friends instead of teachers because everyone is refered to as a friend. It is adorable and makes them sound like Quakers.) N. admitted that sometimes he likes to pretend, and this time he managed to eat everything but the crust of his sandwich. So was there a difference between this sandwich and every sandwich he'd gotten before? Earlier that morning his mother had specifically reminded him that he'd been given a special mushy sandwich.

I made another loaf of sandwich bread last night, and N. would be pleased. It's the perfect loaf for a mushy sandwich like peanut butter and jelly, with a thin crust and a moist interior, but it holds up well to toasting. After having a slice with cream cheese and jam, I toasted a piece and melted some Gruyère on top. Delicious, and accompanied perfectly by cherry tomatoes.

It doesn't look as pretty as the last loaf, but I think it's closer to what the recipe intended.


This time it actually only baked for the requisite 35 minutes (Mo was an absolute sweetheart and took care of the baking end of things), but I handled it more than I would have liked while getting it into the bread pan, and it had to wait longer than specified during its second rise. By the time it got in the oven it had poofed over the top, which is why it has a collapsed section near the middle. Unlike the last loaf, it wasn't that I forgot about the bread as much as I was unwilling to stand in front of a hot oven while cooking dinner. No sandwiches for lunch today, as we have last night's dinner to finish off, but when we get home I will definitely make another piece of toast with cheese.