The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Orowheat Sandwich Thins

naschol's picture
naschol

Orowheat Sandwich Thins

Sacrilege, I know, but...  I love the idea of these, because of the low carb count and the fact that they are sturdy enough (but not tough or hard) to hold even sloppy Joes.  However, if you have ever tasted them, you know they taste like chemicals, compared to homemade breads.

 

I would like to make these, but don't have the foggiest idea where to start.  I know they are docked, at some point before baking, but would you do that before a final rise or after?  Would you roll out the dough and cut?  What type of a whole wheat or whole grain recipe would you use to make sure they hold up? 

Where to start...

amazonium's picture
amazonium

Good question- I have tried them and they are good. I should think that you could take a basic wheat recipe, roll it out thinly, dock it, seed it, and have something similar. Hmmmm, sounds like a weekend experiment to me!

 

naschol's picture
naschol

I don't even like the smell of the purchased product!  But, they are a great idea.

alabubba's picture
alabubba

If you docked a Pita just before baking...

Anyway, that was what I thought when I saw them at my mega-mart.

alabubba's picture
alabubba

Anyone have any luck with these?

SulaBlue's picture
SulaBlue

So.... anyone had any luck with mimicking these yet? I just can't stand paying nearly $3 when I KNOW there's got to be a cheaper way at home!

alabubba's picture
alabubba

I bake these fairly regularly. I roll out my standard onion roll recipe too about 1/4 inch, Dock them, let them rise until just puffy, then into the oven. They come out about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick, Be careful cutting them. Give me a couple days and I will put up a full post about them.

 

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I tried emulating this just using some of my standard, enriched WW dough but it seemed too hard. I just rolled it thin,docked,raised 30 min and baked. I think the commercial product achieves the flexibility with xanthan gum. Gluten free breads are made with xanthan gum, so it is available.

I  recently experimented with a water roux method for a WW loaf and it seemed to produce a more flexible,soft loaf. I wonder if a WW water roux variation on a recipe would produce the desired outcome for this-soft,flexible and still strong enough to be a thin sandwich bun? Fortify with bran(make sure there is a long soak in there somewhere to hydrate the bran so they don't crumble) and it may work.

I'll have to put it on the list of projects.

Look what I found!

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/thin-sandwich-buns-400468

 

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I was developing a soft whole wheat sandwich loaf using the water roux method and thought I'd try this. This is an enriched dough with egg,milk,oil honey and the water roux-all aimed at increasing the softness and stretchiness of the crumb without using any gums. Not my favorite texture for WW but a family member requested it. I simply broke off enough to make 4 little rounds,rolled them into 4" round thins-kind of like a pita. Then I let them raise about 20 minutes,docked very generously with a fork and baked for 10 minutes at 450F with steam.

As you can see, the crumb is even and very soft. Thye seem to have the stretchiness to the dough so they won't break or crumble when sandwich ingredients are gripped in it.They smell wonderful.

So I think any dough that makes a soft loaf can be used to make thins as long as the flour is well hydrated so the crumb doesn't crumble when baked.

 I haven't cut the sandwich loaf yet but it looks wonderful and smells great. It will be used for our lunches this week.

I'd be happy to share the recipe but it is under development and I do use cups and teaspoons rather than weights. My recipes tend to be guidelines rather than formulas since I don't have to worry about scaling up for mass production.

 

LLM777's picture
LLM777

I had asked some months ago about sandwich thins and am glad to see the topic came up again.

I would love the recipe/guidelines to make my own.  Thank you!

clazar123's picture
clazar123

This is a very rough recipe as I was just developing it and I didn't have a lot of time that day. I may not have the liquid/flour proportions down but I use AP flour to adjust the dough at the end of mixing. This was a straight through method using instant yeast to speed up the process.I'm sure it can be developed into a true sourdough with long rises to enhance the flavor. I just wanted to see how the water roux affected texture in a whole wheat sandwich bread and these were a spontaneous by-product.

Whole Wheat Dough for Bread or Sandwich Thins using Water Roux

(This recipe was originally for a loaf of bread-it will prob make several dozen sandwich thins!)

Water Roux:

26 g whole wheat flour (about 5% of the total flour amount)

130 g water (5 times the amount of the flour)

Mix together and microwave in 2-3 short bursts(15-20 sec at a time) stirring to smooth after every microwave.It doesn't take much! Bring to 165F.Place plastic wrap on surface so skin doesn't form and cool.

Dough:

3 c whole wheat (I used 2 c red wheat and 1 c Kamut)

1/4 c ground flax

1 tsp salt

All the cooled water roux

1/2 c active sourdough starter

2 tsp instant yeast (I was short on time that day)

1 egg

3/4 c warm milk,buttermilk or kefir (I used kefir which can boost the rise)

2 tbsp oil

1/4 c honey

1/4c-1c AP flour to bring dough to correct consistency.

Mix,form a round on a floured surface,cover and rest for 15 minutes.

Stretch and fold,shape into a round and rest 15 minutes

Repeat once more.It was quite a sticky dough-it felt almost like a rye dough.Use either lightly floured,oiled or damp hands to handle the dough. I used a bench scraper,also,to help.

Break off 2 oz pieces of dough,shape into a round roll and rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

On a oiled pan with corn flour or oatmeal,press a dough ball into a flat shape about 4"round and 1/4 inch thick.

Let raise for 15-25 min,dock very generously with a fork and bake in a 450F oven for 10-15 min.

Cool on a rack. Cut (carefully) when cold.

I only made 4 sandwich thins from this dough and a sandwich loaf from the rest of the dough.I'm sure this would make several dozen sandwich thins! I bet they would freeze well.I had them for lunch this week and they had perfect texture for sandwich thins-soft and a little stretchy but not gummy. The sandwich loaf turned out pretty soft,also,despite being 100% whole wheat.

If you refine this recipe,please share your results.

 

 

LLM777's picture
LLM777

Thank you for the recipe, can't wait to try it!

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I made another batch and used Gold Meadow Better for Bread and the texture was very different.

LLM777's picture
LLM777

I'll be trying the recipe next week sometime; I had to build a sourdough starter first. :) My whole wheat ones have been disasters but I'm just using AP flour this time where I've had success in the past.

I'll also be using freshly ground whole wheat so hopefully it'll work out well there. I'll let you know how it goes next week. Thanks again.

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I didn't mention this but when you put them on a rack to cool,cover them with a towel so they don't crisp up as they dry-you want them to stay soft.

The next batch I made,I forgot to do this and the crust was quite a bit crunchier. They were better soft.

JoeV's picture
JoeV

My wife started buying these so I immediately went to my kitchen and started to figure these out. After a couple of "learning experiences" I believe I have them dialed in...

 

Multi-Grain Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich ThinsMakes 12-13 sandwich thinsFrom the Kitchen of Joe Valencic
Ingredients:

5 oz. Whole wheat flour
10 oz. White bread flour
.3 oz. Salt
.15 oz. Instant yeast
1.0 oz. 7-Grain or 10-grain hot cereal
.75 oz. Butter
1.05 oz. Honey
1.95 oz. Milk
7.30 oz. Water

Directions:

1. Combine milk, 6.3 oz. of water, honey and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat and stir until butter melts and honey dissolves. Cool to lukewarm (less than 110 F).
2. In a small bowl combine cereal and 1 oz. of hot water. Mix and set aside to cool, then combine with liquid from step one.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and thoroughly blend together.
4. Add lukewarm milk mixture and water to flour. Attach bowl and dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and mix 6 minutes.
5. Remove from bowl and knead to shape into a ball, then place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
6. Divide dough into 2 oz. portions, shape into balls and let rest covered for 5 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a 5” disk, taking care to keep even thickness. Let disk rest on surface for 2-3 minutes to retain its shape (they want to shrink), then place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and dusted with cornmeal. Dock each disk with a docker or with a fork, then cover for 20-30 minutes to rise.
7. Brush top of disks with warm milk and sprinkle with oatmeal flakes or sesame seeds  (optional). Bake at 400F degrees for 13 minutes until they just start to get golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool covered with a towel on wire racks.
8. When disks have cooled completely, slice in half horizontally with a sharp bread knife, place in a bread bag or freezer bag, and put in the freezer to maintain freshness. Thaw for 15 seconds in the microwave.

















mrfrost's picture
mrfrost

They look great.

Definitely keeping this reccipe on file.

Thanks.

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I think the sandwich thin is more just a shape than a specific recipe. I have made these sandwich shapes with every dough I've made the last several months, since it has become my favorite sandwich bun.Every one of them worked fine! And they are much tastier than the sponges in the packaged bread section!

 

 Your recipe looks wonderful for a multigrain bread. That may be my weekend bake!

JoeV's picture
JoeV

Like you, I have made sandwich thins using several different bread doughs with no change in the recipe, and we like the change of pace with a different flavor. Just recently we were having overnight guest for a few days, and I knew that one of our guests loves rye bread and his wife likes whole wheat. So, I used my standard 2-loaf bread recipes and made a dozen sandwich thins and a loaf of bread from each recipe, and everyone was satisfied.