Use Your Loaf!


According to the news, it’s National Sandwich Week so Shirley celebrates the great British sarnie!

What’s your favourite sandwich? I ask because I have a sandwich for my lunch every working day of the year, but I’m a creature of habit when it comes to the fillings.

Not only the fillings but the bread, too. I invested in a bread machine about – goodness, it was at the old house and we’ve lived in this one for 18 years and counting. So, say, 20 years of bread machine usage? At a rate of one loaf per week….Someone who’s better at sums than me can work out how many loaves that is.

I‘ve used my machines – I’m on my third – to make dough for rolls and gingerbread, too, but the weekly bread loaf is the staple.

I like seeded ones and ones with vegetables in. The Courgette Country Loaf is my favourite. That book has been my bread making bible ever since I bought it to make the most of that first machine.

But what to put in all this lovely bread?

Today it was smoked salmon mixed with a tasty dressing called remoulade. Ever heard of it? It’s mayo mixed with chopped pickle. Super tasty, though I’ve never seen it on sale here. We bring back a jar every time we have a German city break. But I’d think it’s easy enough to make your own.

And I always include some nice lettuce like lollo rosso or little gem.

Adventures in fillings!

I know I could be more adventurous in my fillings though. Cheese and pickle. Turkey and stuffing. Tuna mayo. Basically, it’s whatever’s in the fridge and quick to assemble while my porridge is in the microwave.

But I heard a chap on Chris Evans’s breakfast show this week who would laugh at my meagre offerings. How about ham, egg and chips – on a sandwich! Max Halley, his name was, and they were celebrating British Sandwich Week by talking about his book of extraordinary creations.

What’s your sandwich tipple? If you have any novel filling ideas to shake me out of my rut, I’m all ears.

Have a browse of Shirley’s Favourite Bread making book here and find Max Halley’s sandwich book here 

Shirley Blair

Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.