Baked Sandwich

I saw Christy's post on Southern Plate about how her family makes Baked Sandwiches, and it really got my mouth drooling! Jeff and I have been making loaves like this for quite a while, and in fact I'm surprised I haven't posted about these yet. We've gone through a variety of names for this dish - it started as "Supper in a Bread Loaf" and then was shortened to "Supper Loaf." Later we learned that it is sometimes called "Stromboli" and we called it that for a while. Then today Christy called it "Baked Sandwich" and I really like that name. So that's what I'm calling it now.

A baked sandwich is basically a loaf of bread dough rolled up around filling and baked. There are a variety of fillings that you can use - the only limit is your own imagination!

The fillings that Jeff and I have done most often are: cheeseburger style (ground beef, cheddar, and some optional broccoli or spinach), pizza style (pepperoni or sausage, tomato sauce, and mozzarella), and "aloha" style (barbecue sauce, chicken or turkey, pineapple, and cheese). That's the style we chose to do tonight.


To make a baked sandwich:

First you need bread dough. Christy uses a loaf (16 oz) of frozen bread dough, thawed. It's easy and convenient if you have room for it in your budget. Jeff and I usually make our own bread dough in the bread machine - we just put in ingredients for a one-pound loaf and run it on the dough setting. Tonight I used my easy pizza crust recipe, substituting pineapple juice (drained from the can of pineapples I used in the filling) for part of the water. It worked well; however, I prefer the flavor and texture of using regular bread dough.

Whatever bread dough you choose to use, roll it out into a big rectangle, just like you would for cinnamon rolls. Make sure it's not longer than the baking sheet you plan to bake it on.

Spread/sprinkle your filling down the middle of the dough, along the length. For the sandwich tonight, this step included smearing barbecue sauce down the middle, then sprinkling it with turkey chunks, pineapple tidbits, and cheddar cheese. Then fold the sides over onto the filling and pinch closed. See Christy's post for pictures of this step - I was negligent and didn't take any. You could also do this a bit more fancy and make a braid, like Marisa does. Or you can spread the toppings over the whole rectangle and roll it up jelly-roll style.

After rolling it up, transfer onto greased baking sheet, placing seam-side down (unless you braided it, then don't put the seam down). You can let the loaf rise for a while like Christy does, or you can choose not to. Jeff and I usually don't. Brush the loaf with egg if desired, and cut some slashes into the top to allow steam to escape (this keeps your loaf from bursting open while baking and letting all the filling leak out all over).

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Slice and serve!

Sorry that this post isn't very organized or specific. It's just that this dish can be made in so many different ways, and I didn't want to only post the way I did it tonight. We've made this so many times, with a large variety of fillings, and it has turned out delicious each time. Give it a try, you'll be glad you did!

Special bonus: the barbecue sauce I used in tonight's Baked Sandwich!

Barbecue Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (or 1 tbsp. dried minced onion)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 to 2 tbsp. sugar (I've had equal success with both white and brown sugar)
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. celery seed
Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt

In saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. This makes a tangy, robust barbecue sauce with a great flavor!