Have you just wondered about the best bread for BLT while holding a half-eaten sandwich in hand? While BLTs seem incredibly simple, choosing the ideal bread for them is another story.
There are numerous kinds of bread on the market, confusing people with which ones to choose for BLT. If you are in the same situation, reading this article is a must. I will take you through the best kinds of bread for BLT right now. Let’s jump in!
Common Knowledge About BLT
Before diving deeper into a complete guide to choosing the best kinds of bread for BLT, let’s review some interesting facts about it.
A BLT is one of the most common dishes in the world. The sandwich usually has bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes as the base. The main ingredients explain why it got the abbreviation in the first place.
Despite their first appearance in British cookbooks in the late 1920s, BLTs only became common after World War II. Due to the explosion of supermarkets at the time, their core ingredients – lettuce and tomatoes – became more accessible to more people.
As a result, BLTs quickly became a popular kind of sandwich. While BLTs these days have numerous types, their common ingredients are still bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and bread, but in different kinds.
In some cases, bacon is exceptionally swapped for non-meat ingredients, like tofu, mushroom, eggplant, etc., to be suited to vegans.
Criteria For The Best Bread For BLT
So, what are the standards for the best bread for BLT? Well, there are 2 factors you should consider: flavor and texture.
Flavor
There are numerous kinds of bread, with each having different flavors. You should examine other ingredients to choose the right bread for your BLT. Take your time and compare their flavors to determine if they work well in your sandwich.
The taste you want to bring about also impacts how you choose bread. For example, if you don’t want your bread to impact the flavor of your BLT, you should go with slightly flavored bread. Otherwise, give sweet or nutty bread a try if you want something to add flavors to your BLT.
Texture
Another consideration for selecting bread is texture. Due to its ingredients and production, the texture of bread may vary significantly from type to type. Therefore, you should carefully research each type of bread and understand its characteristics before purchasing.
If you are looking for bread that allows you to enjoy your BLT fillings, soft or smooth bread fully is a way to go. Chewy bread is an excellent choice for holding ingredients stably inside, while one with a grainy texture will make your sandwich more appealing to eat.
6 Best Kinds Of Bread For BLT
Based on the criteria mentioned above, these are the best kinds of bread for BLT. Choose what works best for your needs. For a summary, look at the table below.
1. White Bread
White bread is a typical choice for BLT. Its production involves wheat flour made without the bran and the germs layer. As a result, the bread is white, as the name suggests. Other ingredients often include salt, water, and yeast.
The bread has no ferulic acids, a substance often found in the bran, resulting in the bland taste of white bread. Therefore, white bread is a go-to if you want a kind of bread that doesn’t impact different flavors in your BLT.
Its softness and smoothness also help you to consume the sandwich easier and enable its flavor to spread outwards. In addition, white bread is also chewy enough to keep other ingredients in your BLT from falling out.
The bread’s production often involves high wheat flour processing to provide a white color and help the bread last longer. For this reason, overconsuming white bread may lead to potential health issues, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes (1).
Therefore, you may want to consume this bread moderately, even if it is incredibly delicious.
2. Whole Wheat Bread
Whole wheat bread (also known as wholemeal bread) uses whole-wheat flour as the main ingredient, with salt, water, sugar, and yeast. Unlike white bread, the flour of this bread is produced without removing any parts of the wheat and is not highly refined.
For that reason, it can offer you higher amounts of fiber and protein than any bread. Ferulic acids in the bread also give it a different flavor than white bread. It often comes with a nutty and slightly bitter profile, which cooperates well with other ingredients in a BLT.
The soft texture is another great thing about whole wheat bread. This allows you to enjoy your BLT’s fillings and contribute to its overall flavor. The brown color of the bread also makes your sandwich more attractive and appealing.
3. Ciabatta
Ciabatta was invented in Italy by Arnal Cavilari in 1982. Its ingredients are similar to white bread, containing wheat flour, salt, water, and yeast. However, what makes ciabatta special is its additional ingredient, olive oil.
The olive oil gives this bread a tangy flavor, often compared to sourdough bread. Along with its soft, chewy, and honeycomb texture, ciabatta can easily enrich your BLT’s flavor.
You can also add more fillings than usual to your sandwich thanks to the ciabatta’s flat and broad structure. In other words, it gives you more freedom to adjust your BLT ingredients and to keep them inside stably. Just make sure that those fillings go well with one another.
4. Sourdough Bread
Sourdough bread has a long usage history, dating back to 1500 BC in ancient Egypt. It then spread to other regions from ancient Greece to ancient Rome and became widely popular in Northern California in 1849 and until now.
The production method of sourdough bread is fermenting bread flour (also known as baker’s flour) with the help of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. The fermented mixture of flour and water takes several days to develop into a home for wild yeast.
This process gives each loaf tangy and sour flavors that vary between each loaf. These flavors go well with other ingredients in a BLT, such as bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. The taste of every loaf differs, which in turn may make every BLT differ too.
In addition, this bread comes with a perfect balance between the outside and the inside. The former is crispy, while the latter is soft and chewy. This combination allows it to contribute to your BLT’s flavor and upgrade its taste to the next level.
Check out how your sourdough bread is made from start to finish.
5. Rye Bread
Rye bread is made from rye flour and grains. You can categorize the bread based on the flour used for production. Although each variety may come in different flavors and colors, rye bread tends to be stronger and darker than white bread.
Apart from the core ingredients, molasses and cocoa powder are often used for coloring and flavoring. Additionally, people use caraway seeds for a nutty, bittersweet sharpness with citrus and anise notes to elevate the flavor.
This soft and chewy bread has a unique flavor compared to others. It is often regarded as earthy and sour, which brings an unusual flavor to a typical BLT. However, it’s still worth a try to use it in your BLT recipe, especially if you love a herb-like flavor.
If that is not enough to impress you, the health benefits of this bread will. It is a rich source of fiber and various micronutrients. As a result, consuming rye bread may benefit your heart, digestive system, weight control, and blood sugar levels.
6. Sprouted Bread
Sprouted bread is one of the healthiest kinds of bread due to its production method. Sprouted whole grains and legumes in this bread help you digest and absorb its nutrients more easily. In addition, this brown bread also doesn’t contain any sugar like many kinds of bread.
Thanks to its high amounts of nutrients, you can get several health benefits from eating this bread. Its antioxidants may help you fight chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (2). It can also have positive impacts on your blood sugar and weight control.
The production technique of this bread involves soaking the grains until they germinate and grinding them when they are still wet. This explains why it has a grainy and chewy texture, which allows it to hold the ingredients inside while you are eating.
The flavor of sprouted bread is another good point. It adds slightly sweet, nutty, and earthy flavors to your sandwich. You can’t go wrong with this bread for a tasty and healthy BLT.
Find out the health benefits of sprouted bread through this detailed explanation.
How To Store Leftover Bread
You just went through the best kinds of bread for making a BLT. Now, it’s time to find out how to preserve your (leftover) bread properly.
How Long Does Bread Last?
The shelf life of bread depends on various factors, like the type of bread, temperature, and storage conditions. However, it often lasts for up to a week at room temperature. To keep your bread last longer, you can store it in a fridge. It may offer additional 3-5 days for the bread.
Most Obvious Signs To Tell If Bread Is Bad
When it comes to detecting if bread pasts its best, there are 3 signs you should consider: appearance, texture, and taste.
1. Appearance
Mold is the most obvious sign of spoiled bread. This fungus often comes in green, gray, or black colors with a fur-like look. If you spot any mold in your bread, you should get rid of the whole loaf (3). It’s recommended not to save your bread by cutting off the mold.
2. Texture
Another way to check the freshness of your bread is to examine its texture. If the bread is dry or stale, it’s no longer fresh. If you want to eat it, you are unlikely to suffer from any serious health issues. But keep in mind that the bread has also lost its flavor.
3. Taste
The final sign to tell if your bread is usable is strange tastes. If you notice uncomfortable smells, such as musty or vinegary, you should throw your bread away. Besides, if the flavor is significantly different from the original one, you may also want to stop using your bread.
Tips, Tricks, And Hacks To Store Bread Longer
No one wants to waste their bread because of spoilage. So, here are some useful tips you can take to prevent it from happening:
- Buy just enough bread for BLT. Before going to grocery stores, consider how much bread you will need for your sandwiches. This allows you to enjoy the bread within a day or several days.
- Keep your bread in bread boxes at room temperature if you want to use it within 3 days. Otherwise, put your bread in bags and seal it tightly in a fridge. It will last up to a week if doing so.
- Freezing your bread helps it last even longer. The best way to do this is to put your bread in zip bags or airtight containers and seal them tightly. Storing in a freezer helps the bread last for up to 3-6 months, depending on the type of bread.
However, a downside is a need to defrost the bread before using it. The best way to do this is using your microwave or toaster. It will be soft in no time.
Learn how to freeze your leftover bread easily and properly.
Common Mistakes For Making A BLT
While a BLT is simple to make, it is hard to master as well. Therefore, you should look at these common mistakes that people make when preparing these sandwiches.
- Too many slices of tomatoes. While tomatoes are sweet, tangy, and nutritious, their powerful juicy flavor may impact the taste of your sandwich. The magic number for this is 2-3 slices.
- Too many fillings. Although you may gain more calories and have a full stomach, it will make it more difficult to bite and chew a BLT. In some cases, the ingredients may fall out of your bread while you are eating as well.
- Using wet vegetables. Washing is vital to remove any dirt, unwanted chemicals, and bacteria from your greens. You should let your vegetables have enough time to dry to avoid the remaining water adding unnecessary moisture and impacting your BLT.
- Not seasoning vegetables. Many people put veggies straight into a BLT, which is a big mistake. Instead, you should add some spices, such as salt or black pepper, to enrich the flavor of your sandwich.
BLT Recipes
For huge fans of BLT, I still have things to share with you. Take a look at the recipes below; they are some of the best for preparing a BLT.
1. Mayonnaise BLT
The great thing about this BLT recipe is that its ingredients are so common and easy to find. You need to prepare only 5 basic ingredients: bread, bacon, butter, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayonnaise. You can also serve it with fruit salads and oven fries to make it even better.
2. Avocado BLT
For avocado fans, this is a no-brainer BLT. This sandwich is made with basic ingredients, lime juice, salt, black pepper, and surely a love for avocados. Preparing an ice-cold beer is one more step to help the taste of this sandwich explode.
3. Vegan Eggplant BLT
The name speaks for itself. It is a BLT made with vegetarian ingredients in mind. Instead of using bacon, you will alter it with eggplant, dark soy sauce, maple syrup, oil, and other spices. Despite being a time-consuming recipe, it’s still worth a try to make, isn’t it?
FAQs
Before practicing the recipes mentioned above, let’s look at these relevant questions. They may be what you want to ask as well. Stay still and give them some minutes of reading.
Keep Experimenting!
Now, you have grasped all the essential knowledge about the best bread for BLT. But it’s just the beginning of your journey. How about applying what you gained from the article to your own BLT recipes? Experiment with each type of bread and ingredients.
Each time you try, you will master BLT a bit. A Small change may mean a big difference for your sandwich. If you find the article helpful and interesting, leave your comments in the section below. Share the post with your friends to tell them what bread to use for a fantastic BLT.
References
- Bread: Is it good or bad for you? (no date) Medical News Today. MediLexicon International.
- Groves, M. (2018) 7 great reasons to add sprouted grain bread to your diet, Healthline. Healthline Media.
- Food Safety and Inspection Service Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous? | Food Safety and Inspection Service.
