Bacon Caprese Sandwich
This Bacon Caprese Sandwich is a light, but satisfying meal that is easy to eat while you mingle from one tailgate tent to the next on game day. The White Wheat Sandwich Roll is a versatile item to have at any tailgate. You can make them a day or two before your tailgate or easily bake them the morning of the tailgate. This sandwich roll is loaded with the nutritional benefits of whole wheat and dairy. It will elevate the taste of any burger or deli meat sandwich that you serve on your game day spread. For an early season game, we love to serve these sandwich rolls with basil, fresh mozzarella, juicy tomato and crisp bacon.
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PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 25 minutes
SERVINGS: 10
TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes
Ingredients
White wheat sandwich rolls (recipe provided below)
1.5 pounds mozzarella cheese, sliced
5-6 medium tomatoes, sliced
1.5 pounds bacon or turkey bacon, cooked and drained
2 cups basil leaves
White Wheat Sandwich Rolls
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus extra for greasing the bowl
4 cups milk
3 tablespoons plus one teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 packages rapid-rise yeast (0.25 ounce each)
0.5 cup water, lukewarm
4 cups bread flour
4 cups white whole-wheat flour
2 baking sheets lined with parchment
Notes
Yield is 10-12 large sandwiches.
Recipe provided by Sally James and Taylor Mathis, co-authors of the “Taylor Takes a Taste” blog (http://taylortakesataste.com/) and “The Southern Tailgating Cookbook.”
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Instructions
White Wheat Sandwich Rolls
1.Put eight (8) tablespoons unsalted butter into a medium sized saucepan. Add the milk, three (3) tablespoons of honey and kosher salt. Bring the heat to medium. Stir the mixture frequently until the butter is melted and mixed with the milk. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool until the milk is lukewarm.
In a medium bowl, add the yeast, water and remaining one (1) teaspoon of honey. Gently stir to dissolve the honey into the water. Let the yeast mixture rest for 5 minutes or until the yeast begins to foam and activate.
Put the flours into the work bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the dough hook. Mix the flours on low speed until blended. Raise the speed to medium low. Add the lukewarm milk mixture to the yeast mixture. Slowly pour the milk and yeast mixture into the bowl of flour. Stop the mixer. Scrape the excess flour down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix on low speed until all the flour is blended into the dough. Raise the speed to medium. Mix the dough for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough forms a ball and clears the sides of the mixer. Turn off mixer.
Butter a large glass, ceramic or metal bowl. Empty the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dishtowel and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk. When dough has risen, punch it down with your hands before removing it from the bowl.
To form the rolls, empty the dough onto a work surface and divide the dough in half. Melt the remaining four (4) tablespoons of butter. Divide each dough half into five or six equal size pieces. Cup a piece of dough under the palm of your hand and roll on the counter to form a ball. Flatten the ball with the heel of your hand to form a disc. Place the disc on the parchment covered baking sheet. Continue rolling and flattening the dough balls until you have two pans filled with five or six sandwich buns a piece. Brush the tops of each sandwich roll with melted butter. Let the rolls rise until doubled in bulk.
While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the two pans of rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are light golden brown. Remove the rolls from the oven. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let rolls finish cooling on a metal rack. Cooled rolls can be transported to the tailgate in paper or plastic bags. Extra rolls freeze very well.
Bacon Caprese Sandwiches
Cut the rolls in half. Season the sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste. To assemble the sandwiches, add equal amounts of mozzarella, tomato slices, bacon, and basil on the bottom layer of the sandwich rolls. Add the top layer to the sandwiches and serve.