Famous Egg Sandwich From Flour Bakery Recipe on Food52 (2024)

We never meant for our egg sandwiches to become famous. In fact, for the first seven or so years we were open, we only offered them on Sundays in a limited amount and on a first-come, first-served basis. The original Flour is just a short walk from one of Boston’s classic diners, Mike’s City Diner, which serves a killer egg sandwich along with its characteristic sassy attitude. We figured our customers would come to us for pastries and head to Mike’s if they wanted a more substantial eggy breakfast. Since our kitchen isn’t really set up for a diner-style egg sandwich, with eggs cracked into a skillet and fried to order, we had to come up with a way to precook the eggs so they could simply be reheated and assembled quickly to order by the counter staff. We tried to bake the eggs ahead of time, but they turned rubbery as soon as they were chilled. So we brought in our pastry knowledge that fat—in this case, half-and half— keeps eggs tender and soft. Thus our egg soufflé was born. We bake the eggs in advance and then reheat them with cheese, meat, and tomato to order. Our homemade focaccia roll is slathered with dijonnaise, a mix of Dijon mustard and mayonnaise that we dub our (not any longer) “secret sauce.” These egg sandwiches have become so beloved that now we offer them seven days a week all day long, and some customers only know us as the Egg Sandwich Place.

Reprinted from Flour, Too by Joanne Chang with permission by Chronicle Books, 2013.

On The Genius Recipe Tapes, Kristen checked in with chef and co-owner of Flour Bakery and Myers & Chang Joanne Chang—they discussed how the past year has gone, "the mom test," and what authenticity means to Joanne in her work. Listen here. —Joanne Chang

Directions

1. Egg sandwiches
2. Sprinkle the baking sheet liberally with the cornmeal. Set aside.
3. Shape the dough into a 4-inch/10-centimeter square, then divide the square into four equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by stretching it flat on a work surface and then bringing the edges inward to meet in the center. Turn the dough piece over and keep tucking the edges of the dough underneath until you have a small ball with a taut surface. Place the dough ball on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining three dough pieces. Sprinkle the dough balls with some of the flour, lightly cover them with plastic wrap or a lint-free cloth, and place them in a warm area (78° to 82°F/25° to 27°C is ideal) for about 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size and is soft and wobbly.
4. About 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, and place a rack in the center of the oven. Coat the bottom and sides of a 8x8-inch cake pan with nonstick spray or liberally coat the bottom and sides with vegetable oil.
5. Uncover the dough balls. Sprinkle them with the remaining flour, and then slap each ball flat with the palm of your hand to deflate it. Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F/150°C. 5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together until blended. Whisk in the half-and-half and salt until combined. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared cake pan.
6. Place the cake pan in a roasting pan, and place the roasting pan on the center oven rack. Pour hot water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan. This water bath will ensure that the egg souffle will cook slowly and evenly. Drape a piece of aluminum foil over the cake pan or place a baking sheet directly on top of it, then carefully slide in the oven rack and close the oven door. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove the foil or baking sheet and sprinkle the pepper and thyme evenly over the top. Cover again and continue baking for about 20 minutes longer, or until the center of the egg mixture is just barely set and no longer wiggles when you jiggle the pan.
7. Remove both pans from the oven, and carefully remove the cake pan holding the eggs from the water bath. Leave the oven on. Let the eggs cool and set in the pan for about 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Cut the eggs into four equal portions. Using a spatula, carefully remove the egg patties from the cake pan. (Egg patties may be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.) Place the egg patties on the baking sheet and top each patty with 1 slice of the Cheddar and 1 slice of the ham or 2 strips of bacon. Put the baking sheet in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt.
8. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and mustard and stir until blended. Split each cooled roll in half horizontally, and spread the mayo-mustard mixture evenly on both cut sides of each roll. Divide the mesclun equally among the roll bottoms. Remove the egg patties from the oven, place a patty on top of the greens, then top each with 1 tomato slice. Close each sandwich with a roll top and press down to smush everything together. Serve immediately.

1. Focaccia
2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine 1 1⁄2 cups/360 ml tepid water and the yeast and let sit for 20 to 30 seconds to allow the yeast to dissolve and activate. Dump the all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, and salt into the water. Carefully turn the mixer on to low speed and mix for about 10 seconds. (To prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl, turn the mixer on and off several times until the flour is mixed into the liquid, and then keep it on low speed.) When the dough is still shaggy looking, drizzle in the olive oil, aiming it along the side of the bowl to keep it from splashing and making a mess.
3. With the mixer still on low speed, knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and supple. The dough should be somewhat sticky but still smooth and have an elastic, stretchy texture. (If it is much stiffer than this, mix 1 to 2 tbsp water; if it is much looser than this, mix in 2 to 3 tbsp all-purpose flour.)
4. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cloth, and place in a draft-free, warm (78°F to 82°F/25°C to 27°C is ideal) area for 2 to 3 hours. An area near the stove or in the oven with only the oven light on is good. The dough should rise until it is about double in bulk. (This is called proofing the dough.)
5. Once the dough has risen, flour your hands and the work surface and turn the dough out onto the work surface. Press the dough into an 8-inch/20-centimeter square and fold the top edge of the square down to the center of the dough. Fold the bottom of the square up to the center of the dough and press the seam firmly with your fingers. Now fold the right side of the square into the center and the left side into the center, and again press the seam firmly. Turn the dough over, seam-side down, and shape the dough with a tucking motion so that it is about 6 in/15 cm square. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, generously flour the top of the dough, and then cover the dough loosely but completely with a damp lint-free cloth or a piece of plastic wrap. Place in a warm area (78° to 82°F/25° to 27°C) for another hour or so, or until the dough rises a bit and gets puffy and pillowy. (This is proofing, again.) If making hot pockets, egg sandwiches, or turkey burgers: Split the dough in half and reserve half of the dough for another use. Proceed with the desired recipe as directed.

Recipe by: Joanne Chang