The Type Of Bread You Need For A Scrumptious BLT Sandwich

Bacon, lettuce, tomato: BLT. So simple and yet so effective, this combination is a delight for sandwich lovers everywhere. With the fillings being so clear-cut, the only question left to ask is this: Which bread is best?

Because of the high water content in both the tomato and lettuce components, you won't want bread that's too moist or you'll risk a soggy sandwich. The best kind of bread to use is one with a good, firm crust. Recipe developer Susan Olayinka recommends using sourdough for this exact purpose, "as it helps keep this sandwich firm which makes it not fall apart." Sourdough bread is harder and chewier than white bread, so it holds everything together beautifully. It also provides great textural variation, where crunchy bread and lettuce complement chewy bacon and supple tomatoes.

Sourdough doesn't only elevate a BLT's texture. Unlike the sweet taste of white bread or the nutty flavor of wholemeal, the taste of sourdough is, well, sour. Wholemeal and white bread can overwhelm and be overwhelmed by the BLT's fillings, respectively, but sourdough treads this line perfectly. Its taste is tangy enough to make its presence known but is also subtle enough to let the fillings have their moment in the spotlight.

Whether you usually toast your bread or not can depend on where you're from. Susan Olayinka, for instance, told Mashed that it's more typical "to have it untoasted" in the U.K., where a sandwich (untoasted) and a "toastie" (toasted) are two separate snacks. An untoasted BLT has the obvious benefit of being easier to throw together, ideal if you're in a rush or have limited stove top space. It lacks the satisfying crunch of biting into toasted bread, but sourdough's thick crust alleviates that disappointment somewhat.

The fact that sourdough is already on the hard side does not mean it shouldn't be toasted. Most bread is made better when transformed into toast, but sourdough's already distinctive flavor is particularly enhanced by this process. The only thing to keep in mind is to cut the toasting time if you're using a particularly dry sourdough, as you still want to retain at least some moisture when you put your sandwich together.

The best part about using sourdough in your BLT is that there are different kinds, so if you get tired of your usual sourdough or just feel like experimenting you can branch out. Whether you bake it at home or buy it elsewhere, varying the kind of sourdough you eat ensures you'll never get bored.