Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwiches with Pane al Latte

This Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwich, made with homemade no knead Pane al Latte (Milk Bread), is pretty much the most delicious chicken sandwich I've ever tasted.

This Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwich is pretty much a knock your socks off delicious sandwich. I know it's my new favorite. While you probably won't find a triple-decker club sandwiches in Italy, it's fun to imagine that if there were one, it might be just like this sandwich.

This sandwich begins with an amazing no-knead bread based on a milk bread from the Lazio region of Italy. In Italy, the dough is typically shaped into rolls for sandwiches, according to Jim Lahey, the author of the books, The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook, My Bread, and My Pizza.

In this case, I baked the dough in a 9 inch Pullman pan to create square slices for a club sandwich. This is the same pan I used for this flax seed bread. It's also a great pan for making gluten free loaves.

If you don't have the Pullman pan, you can definitely make this bread in an 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch bread pan.

P.S. I understand (sort of) if you don't have time to make your own bread for this sandwich. A great substitution would be a good quality light whole wheat sandwich bread. The bread should be soft and airy, but still slightly crusty.

There is a little bit of planning to make this Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwich, especially if you make your own bread, roast your own peppers (here's how), and pickle your own fennel, but every step is worth it.

For substitutions, see note above about the bread. Jarred roasted red peppers are easy to find in the grocery store. For the pickled fennel, you could use a small amount of any jarred pickled vegetable.

Ingredients you will need for this Chicken Club Sandwich:

For the bread: milk, honey, water, unbleached all purpose flour, wheat bran (not wheat germ), salt, and instant yeast. 

For the sandwich: Prosciutto, mayonnaise, smoked paprika, chèvre or other soft goat cheese, roasted red bell peppers, roasted chicken, basil leaves, and quick-picked fennel. 

How to Make an Italian-Style Chicken Club Sandwich:

To make the Pane al Latte:

First, you mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Next, you scald the milk and add it to the water and honey in another bowl. 

Next, you add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, give it a quick stir, and let it rest for 20 minutes, after which you give the dough a quick stretch-and-fold.

The dough will need about 2 to 4 hours to rise until it has doubled, at which point you scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and let it rest another 30 to 60 minutes, covered with a damp towel. 

To shape the dough, pat it into a flat round. 

Next, fold it in thirds like an envelope. Turn it lengthwise and and roll it up into a nine inch log. 

Place it into an oiled 9-inch Pullman pan to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes.

Even if you don't make the sandwich, make this bread. It's so good, light as air, and super flavorful. 

To make the triple-decker club sandwich:

First, bake the prosciutto in a 400 degree oven until crispy. While the prosciutto is baking, mix the mayonnaise and paprika together. Toast the sliced bread. 

To assemble the sandwiches, spread the bottom and top bread slices with the mayonnaise mixture. Spread the middle slice with the goat cheese, and top the goat cheese with some roasted red bell pepper.

Add some chicken and prosciutto to the bottom slice, and top with the middle slice. Top the bottom slice with the the middle slice, and add some chicken and more prosciutto. Top with some basil and pickled fennel and the top slice of bread. 

For the chicken, I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, which I sliced and cut into chunks. They are so good these days, that there is little reason for roasting your own for this sandwich, especially if you're baking your own bread! 

August is National Sandwich Month so the Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating with an array of sandwiches, hosted by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Braaibroodjie - Grilled Cheese Sandwich From South Africa by Sneha's Recipe
• Caprese Focaccia Sandwich by Caroline's Cooking
• Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwiches with Pane al Latte by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Jolly Holiday Specialty Toasted Cheese Sandwich by Simply Inspired Meals
• Spicy Chicken Tikka Rolls by Food Lust People Love
• Turkey Burger by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Venezuelan Stuffed Arepas by Pandemonium Noshery

Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwiches with Pane al Latte

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

This Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwich, made with no knead Pane al Latte, is pretty much the most delicious chicken sandwich I've ever tasted.

ingredients:

For the Pane al Latte

• 300 grams (1 1/4 cups) whole milk
• 10 grams (1 1/2 teaspoons) honey
• 75 grams (1/3 cup) room temperature water
• 395 grams (2 3/4 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 5 grams (1 tablespoon) wheat bran
• 6 grams (1 teaspoon) fine sea salt
• 3 grams (1 teaspoon) instant yeast

Quick Pickled Fennel

• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1 1/4 cups white vinegar
• 1 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

For the Sandwiches

• 8 thin slices of prosciutto
• 12 slices of the Pane al Latte, crusts removed
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup chèvre or other soft goat cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced roasted red bell peppers
• 2 cups shredded chicken (light and dark meat) from a rotisserie chicken
• 16 large basil leaves
• Pickled fennel

instructions:

How to cook Italian Style Chicken Club Sandwiches with Pane al Latte

To Make the Bread

1. Bring the milk to a boil and immediately remove it from the heat. Add the honey and the water to a medium bowl and pour the milk over it. Let cool until the mixture cools to 90 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, bran, salt, and yeast. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a dough whisk or your hands until just mixed. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes. 
3. Stretch and fold the dough over itself a few times, re-cover, and let rise until doubled, 2 to 4 hours. 
4. Gently fold the dough again, re-cover, and let rest 30 to 60 minutes. 
5. Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and press it into an 8 inch disk. Then, fold the dough like an envelope into a rectangle and gently flatten. Next, tightly roll the dough lengthwise to create a 9 inch log. Place the log, seam side down, into an oiled 9-inch Pullman pan and cover with plastic wrap. Proof for 60 to 90 minutes, until the dough almost reaches the top of the pan in the middle. In the meantime, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
6. Cover the loaf with the top of the Pullman pan and bake the loaf for 45 to 50 minutes. 
7. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the lid, and let the loaf rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

To Make the Pickled Fennel

1. Very thinly slice the fennel bulb (about 1/8 inch thick) and add it to a heat proof glass or ceramic bowl. 
2. Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over the sliced fennel. 
3. Let cool completely and then refrigerate for up to a month. 

For the Sandwiches

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and spread the prosciutto slices on a sheet pan. Bake the prosciutto for about 10 minutes, until crispy. 
2. In the meantime, toast the bread in a toaster oven or toaster, and mix the mayonnaise and paprika. 
3. Line up the toast, four across, and three top to bottom. Spread the top and bottom slice with paprika mayonnaise. 
4. Spread the middle slice with the goat cheese and top with some of the roasted red pepper. 
5. Cover the bottom slices with 1/4 cup of chicken and a slice of prosciutto each. Place the middle slice on top, red pepper facing up, and add another 1/4 cup of chicken and a slice of prosciutto on the middle slice. Top with 4 large basil leaves, a teaspoon of pickled fennel, and the top slice of bread (mayonnaise side down). Secure with a toothpicks or skewers. Cut on the diagonal to serve. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2019/08/italian-style-chicken-club-sandwiches.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

sandwich, chicken club, bread, basil, paprika

Sandwich, lunch

Italian

Created using The Recipes Generator

This recipe was adapted from the book, The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook by Jim Lahey. I have all three of his books and bake often from each one, including My Pizza and the ground breaking My Bread.

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