A good thing in good bread

There are few things in life that can improve your day quite as quickly as a really good sandwich.

The weather might be getting colder and lunch might be happening somewhere between jobs on the list. But some good bread and something nice to put in it can make everything feel much better indeed.

The name comes from John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. The story goes that he asked for some cooked meat between two slices of bread so he could eat without leaving the card table. This was in the eighteenth century, but it gave the sandwich its name rather than inventing the idea. I’m sure that, for as long as people have been making bread, they have been putting nice things inside it and eating it from the hand.

At Jolene, we spend a lot of time thinking about bread, the time, effort and love that go into making it, all the way back to the people growing the grain. Our connection with Wildfarmed goes back to a visit to Andy Cato, its co-founder, on his farm, Naroques, near Auch in France.

After that amazing visit, we set about developing a bread we call the Narocodile, a yeasted, slow-fermented bread named after Naroques and its crocodile-snout-like appearance when it comes out of the oven. Sometimes we use focaccia or baguette, but mostly it’s the Narocodile. We consider it a very good sandwich bread, with a nice crust and a little chew, so it feels like you’re eating something real. The bread should be as enjoyable as whatever’s inside it.

The filling doesn’t always need to be complicated. Mature Cheddar, some pickle and a generous amount of butter. Ham and mustard. Egg mayonnaise with plenty of black pepper and some cress. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is leave a good thing alone. Some sandwiches can be wonderfully luxurious. One of my favourites is the Boxing Day leftovers sandwich. Cold goose, stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, sliced pigs in blankets and red cabbage. Leftovers do often make the best sandwiches. Cold roast chicken with mayonnaise and watercress. Roast pork with apple sauce. Open the fridge before you
go shopping. There might already be a lovely lunch in there.

A bit of balance helps in life generally, and sandwiches are no exception. Think about the classic bacon sandwich with brown sauce. What makes it good is the balance between the fatty, crispy bacon and the brown sauce that cuts through all that fat and salt so well. I’m not above sliding a few crisps into a cheese and pickle sandwich at home for some extra crunch. Basically, whatever floats your boat is all good.

And a big up to Lucy, our resident head of sandwiches, whose skills between two slices of bread are unrivalled.

Jolene

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