Flour Bakery + Cafe Egg Sandwich

                  

I can't believe when I was in Boston at Flour Bakery + Cafe, I didn't buy Joanne Chang's "Flour, too" cookbook. If only I had of known it contained the recipe for her scrumptious breakfast egg sandwich, I wouldn't have had to trawl the internet like a porn addict in search of it.

Don't get me wrong, my desire to replicate this sandwich is by no means a substitute for the real thing, I would buy and eat this sandwich from Flour bakery all day every day given half the chance. There is just one small obstacle, being in Australia - there is 20+ hours of flying time between our unrequited love. So here it is:

Makes 4 servings (or sandwiches)

9 eggs

3/4 cup half and half (which is basically half milk and half cream)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Pinch ground pepper

1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Secret sauce

4 tbsp Hellmans mayonnaise

4 tbsp dijon mustard

4 foccacia rolls

4 slices sharp cheddar cheese

8 slices smoked bacon or 4 slices black forest ham

2 cups mesclun greens or rocket

4 slices of ripe tomato or 4 roast Roma tomato halves

Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk with the half-and-half, adding the salt, pepper and thyme. Once the egg mix is whisked, pour into a 20-22cm round cake tin, and place on a baking tray or dish that has high sides. Add a little water to the tray so that you create a water bath for the egg custard. Place in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 150 degrees for 30-35 minutes. You want the egg cooked enough so that it doesn't wobble around, and is set.

Once the egg souffle has cooled down cut it into 4 portions, and place the slices onto a baking tray. You then need to layer egg with your sandwich ingredients. First add the cheese, then the tomato. If you are time pressed, you can simply add sliced tomato on top of the egg. If you have extra time and lots of ripe Roma tomatoes, try halving your tomatoes and seasoning with salt and pepper, a little thyme and olive oil and roast in a low oven on 150-160 for 1 hour to extract some of the moisture and intensify the flavour of the tomato.

Then top your egg with either the bacon slices (that have been pre-cooked) or the black forest ham, and place the topped egg in the oven so that the cheese has time to melt.

Yes the bread is super important to the overall quality of the sandwich. And if you totally had the time (or even if you didn't) you would make your own. That's what Joanne Chang would do. At Flour bakery they use a focaccia dough to make their sandwich rolls. You can use whatever rolls you like, but the crust should be soft. 

To make the not-so-secret sauce, mix the mayonnaise and dijon mustard. If you can't find Hellman's any other whole egg mayonnaise (I like S&W) will do just fine. Halve your rolls, and spread both sides with mayonnaise, then place a small handful or mesclun or rocket on each base. Retrieve your  eggs from the oven, and top each roll with an egg, and top with the bread rolls. And there you have it, your very own piece of Flour bakery in every bite without having to leave the comfort of your lounge. Bon Appetite!