Epic baked salami sandwich

You may not be able to handle this one - are you ready?.... behold. The Best Sandwich Ever!

The other day we were watching Lidia Bastianich and she was making these amazing sandwiches - so I just had to give it a try. Turns out they are our new favorite lunch treat - and so easy! I was only half listening to the show so it took me a while to find the actual recipe just now. You can find it here. The first time I made these I just guessed the dough recipe. All I heard her say was "about a cup and a half of water" and I just worked it out from there. The dough is just flour, water, and yeast - how easy is that? I used about a cup of whole wheat which is while my breads are little more "rustica."

After your dough has risen, cut it in half and form into rounds. Get two cast iron skillets ready and start cranking your oven to about 450*. And sure, no one wants to heat up the kitchen during the summer.. but psstt..make the dough at night, put in the fridge, then bake in the morning.

Pat the dough flat and then put in your skillet. I add a bit of olive oil  in the bottom of the pan to make the crust extra crispy. Stretch the dough until it fills the bottom of the pan. Cover to rise about 20- 30 minutes or until light.

See? It kinda puffs up a bit. Oven hot? Pop them in until its barely light brown - about 15 minutes. Take the breads out of the skillets and let cool on a rack for a few minutes - until you can easily handle them.

Now this is the hardest part - cut the top off the baked bread. Careful! Don't cut your hand. Just use the longest serrated knife you have and kinda turn the bread slowly as you are sawing into it.

See? Easy peasy and no one ended up in the ER! Yay!

Then fill them up with whatever grabs you - on this day I did 2 kinds of cheese, salami, ham, basil, olives and some marinated peppers. On her show Lidya did roasted veggies in one and sausage and greens in another. Today (Monday) I slathered on a layer of pesto, provolone, salami, ham, and goat cheese.

Now here's the best part - put the top back on and then put it all BACK in the hot oven for about 10 or 12 minutes - until the cheese is melty, and the bread is a lovely golden brown.

Cut into wedges and serve them up.  How much fun is that? They can easily be reheated in a toaster oven, or are fine cold. The best thing is  - you can stuff them with pretty much anything.

So now you know what I'm having for lunch - whatcha making to sustain you these days?

Happy Tuesday!