Subway Bread - Kind of

It's wrestling season so you can imagine that this family is spending most of their weekends at wrestling tournaments.  I get tired of concession stand food really quickly so it's picnic lunches (and dinners) for me.  I found a recipe for "subway" bread on blessthismessplease.com.  I have tried to recreate the delicious bread that they make at these sandwich franchises but haven't had much luck.  (Remember the Jimmy John's bread attempt?)  It wasn't a total disaster but I wouldn't call it a success either.  I decided to forget the past and go ahead and give it another try with this Subway recipe.  Here goes nothing.

Homemade Subway Rolls

Ingredients (Makes 4 9-inch loaves)

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 1 1/2 T. yeast
• 1 T. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 T. olive oil
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  

Instructions

In the bowl of your stand mixer add the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. 

Add 1 cup of flour and mix with the dough hook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add an additional cup of flour and mix until well combine. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed. The dough should still stick to the bottom of of the bowl, but pull away from the sides. Let the dough mix for around 8 minutes total.

When the dough has come together but is still sticking a bit to the bottom of the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. The dough should be very soft. Shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for a half hour.

After the dough has risen turn it out onto a clean surface and divide it into 4. Roll each piece of dough into a long skinny loaf that is about 9 to 10 inches long. Place the rolled loaves onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Allow at least 2 inches in between each loaf on the pan. Cover the loaves with a greased piece of plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Towards the end of the rising time preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the loaves are ready, bake them in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

When the loaves come out of the oven rub to tops with a stick of butter and cover them with a dish towel to cool. Rubbing the loaves with butter and covering them with a towel to cool are part of what keeps them very soft, so be sure not to miss those steps.

This is how they looked when I wrapped them in a towel.

Let the loaves cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting down the middle and topping with your favorite sandwich fixings.

Load it up.

This bread was way better than the Jimmy Johns bread that I tried to make earlier this year.   It wasn't nearly as soft as the Subway version but I don't think I left it in the towel long enough to get it to soften.  I blame my extreme hunger for that.





My family really seemed to like the bread and other than the fact that it was a little flatter and not quite as soft, it was pretty close to what you can buy at the national franchise.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  (It may just save you a few trips to your local Subway restaurant.)

Ciao!