Julia Child’s Perfect Sandwich Bread Is the Underrated Recipe Everyone Should Be Making (2024)

FAQs

Which bread do you think will make the best sandwich? ›

Julia Child's Pain Français (French Bread) recipe was published in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II in 1970. It became an instant classic, and like so many of Julia's recipes, proved that the average home cook could make beautiful loaves of French Bread in her own kitchen.

That said, most homemade breads are likely healthier than store-bought breads, which are often high in sugar and preservatives. One benefit of making your own bread is that you can control the ingredients. For example, you can use whole wheat flour instead of white flour, or add healthy toppings like nuts and seeds.

Choose bread appropriate to the sandwich you're making. Pair moist fillings with soft, fluffy breads and you've got a recipe for a sponge, not a sandwich. As a general rule, the moister the filling the drier and denser the bread should be. A good, thick crust helps, too.

The favorite, by a thinly-sliced margin, is sourdough. Roughly 25% of the total 615 respondents (that's 156 people, for those keeping track at home) prefer sourdough bread for sandwiches.

Child repeatedly recalled her first meal at La Couronne in Rouen as a culinary revelation; once, she described the meal of oysters, sole meunière, and fine wine to The New York Times as "an opening up of the soul and spirit for me."

Famous chef, author, and television personality, Julia Child made French cuisine accessible to American audiences. She was one of the first women to host her own cooking show on television, providing tips and lessons on how to prepare French food simply and easily.

Child died just two days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal was a bowl of French onion soup prepared by her assistant, who reportedly got a few tips on how it could have been improved.

Unless you have a medical condition such as celiac disease, wheat allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is no need for you to avoid bread! In fact, bread can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet every day – yes that is correct, every day!

And will eating it every day affect your health negatively? Thankfully, bread can still be a go-to household staple, and can even help many people reach their nutrient goals. According to the Grain Foods Foundation, bread can be an excellent source of folate, fiber, iron, B vitamins and much more.

Is it worth making your own sandwich bread? ›

Homemade bread is also made with more nutritious ingredients and is healthier and better-tasting than store-bought loaves. But buying store-bought bread may be more cost-effective than making it yourself if you just need one loaf of super basic, plain sandwich bread for breakfast or lunch.

The only difference between a 'sandwich' loaf and an ordinary loaf is its shape. A sandwich loaf usually has a 'square' section. This gives the sandwich an even shape where both ends of the sandwich are the same shape.

Sandwich bread may be designed to have a balanced proportion of crumb and crust, whereby the bread holds and supports fillings in place and reduces drips and messiness. Some may be designed to not become crumbly, hardened, dried or have too compressible a texture.

Look for “whole grain,” “whole wheat,” or “whole meal” on the label. If a loaf contains 6 grams of fiber per 100 g, it's rich in fiber. Choose breads with plenty of intact grains, like oats, barley, and quinoa, as well as seeds, if you can eat these. Watch out for mass-produced sourdough breads.

In general, you want to look for whole-grain bread that has some fiber, protein and not too much sodium or added sugar per slice. Sprouted grain bread hits all those marks and has a hearty texture that I think is delicious when toasted.