From the moment on so many mornings when I open my eyes and almost immediately begin wondering what I should make for dinner, thoughts of food—zigzagging off in a million different, delightful directions—have a way of grabbing hold of me. Yet I realized recently that even I have a category of food I tend to overlook: the dependable and unassuming sandwich.
On days when I need a low-fuss lunch, it quickly and reliably feeds me and my kids. It helps me clean out my fridge. Its portability makes it perfectly suited to meals on the go. Most of the time I take all of this for granted as I chew my sandwich mechanically, unthinkingly, while my mind is absorbed in something else.
I am by no means the first person to eat my sandwich that way. The Earl of Sandwich himself, that unsavory-sounding 18th-century British nobleman said to have invented it, supposedly came up with the idea because he was too caught up in gambling at high-society parties to leave the gaming table and took to ordering servants to bring him slices of meat between pieces of bread instead.
But what if I paid a little more attention to this trusty source of sustenance? I’m glad I finally did, since it gave me the chance to read up on a little sandwich history and lore and, thanks to two outstanding cookbooks devoted to the subject, find the inspiration I’d been lacking.
And because I already knew that the best sandwiches start with fantastic bread, it also gave me the opportunity to fine-tune my favorite homemade focaccia recipe, streamlining it into a simple, foolproof project perfect for the youngest bakers who are ready to step up their sandwich game.
Read on for some ideas that will suddenly have the sandwich makers in your kitchen taking notice, too.
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