The Brown Bread Game

I don’t like whole grain bread. I want my bread to be fluffy and chewy, and that almost always means white bread of some kind. I know it’s not good for me. I hear my doctor’s voice in my head. I might as well be eating a bowl of sugar, right? I feel fine eating white bread for special occasions, like when I’ve made the breakfast I described in my last post, but if bread is going to be a staple in my diet, it better be brown.

If I’m going to eat brown bread, there should be something special about it. Toasting helps, of course, even better is some love from a panini press. With a light coat of olive oil on both sides of the press and a gentle squeeze for a couple minutes, the bread comes out warm and crunchy like toast, but still moist and pliable. Now we’re talking! If you don’t have a panini press, a skillet will work, too. The results will be as good, or possibly even better, but it will take more time and a watchful eye to avoid charring.

Sure, you’re cooking your bread in fat, but weren’t you planning to butter your toast anyhow? And isn’t this a healthier fat? I learned about the beauty of olive oil toast from Alison Roman, who features it in her video “Alison Roman makes Brothy Beans.” She makes hers in a skillet and that’s also what Priya Krishna does when she makes her marvelous dahi toast. A skillet will give you more options: if you want to bloom aromatics in your oil first, like garlic, red pepper flakes, or cumin seeds, that’s easier to do in a skillet. It’s also easier to get a deeper, more complex browning. A panini press is faster, makes it less likely that you’ll char your toast, and makes it more likely your bread will retain its moisture.

Now, the Brown Bread Game is just a pregame for a round of The Sandwich Game. Here’s what I like to do with my panini-pressed bread:

While your bread is toasting, thinly slice some red onion and toss arugula with balsamic vinegar and a little lemon juice. Crumble some feta. When your bread is where you want it, rotate the slices 90°, spread mustard and drizzle honey on each.

To assemble, with the slices still on the press, pile the crumbled feta on one of them. Then place the arugula on top. Try to get the pile to stay within the bounds of the bread, but there will likely be some runaway leaves, and that’s okay. Finally, flip the other piece of bread on top. Lower the top of the panini press and leave it down for a few minutes.

To do this in a skillet, make sure to brown both sides in a thin layer of olive oil first, then pile your ingredients on top of the bread while it’s still in the skillet, over lower heat. Assemble the sandwich and give it a press with a spatula. If you’re feeling daring, you can try flipping the sandwich, scooting the spatula under it and using one hand on top to hold it together.

The result will be a truly balanced sandwich, between tangy and savory, crunchy and chewy, virtuous and indulgent. That’s how to win The Brown Bread Game.