It's time for another episode of Sandwich Mechanics. Last time we spent way too much time talking about what this blog series is. Having invested that time previously, we can skip all that nonsense and talk about some sandwiches. How does that sound?
So I picked up some weird bread the other day at the grocs shop. I usually don't like rye bread, but I'm the only one eating it in sandwiches for the time being, so I figured I'd take advantage of this opportunity to be a bit daring. My principle so far has been to pick out something new that's on sale at Safeway. I saw three or four varieties of rye bread (thanks, Oroweat, for having entirely too many flavors of bread) and decided to grab one pretty much at random.
The flavor I chose this time was Dill Rye. My only real encounter with dill is that my dad would put it in when he made kielbasa and saurkraut, and even then I bet the flavor of the kraut overpowered it, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. "Seasoned bread", I guess.
Well, this Dill Rye is pretty nice, actually. The first thing I noticed when I opened it was an aromatic, savory smell that came off of the bread. Apparently dill has a savory fragrance? My bad; I didn't know! But it smells really nice, and the smell comes through slightly in the taste, even buried under the spreads, meat, and cheese.
Texture wise, this is a relatively tough bread. I don't want to say "tough", though, because that sounds like I'm talking about hardtack or something. What I mean is it's sturdy and not flimsy. I think this is probably a feature of the rye family as a whole, but we'll evaluate that later...
In addition to being sturdy, it is clearly fibrous. That comes through in its low absorbancy. When I spread Miracle Whip on it, almost none soaks in. This is a desirable property, because it means I don't have to spread as much topping for the taste of it to remain intact, as opposed to it being diluted by the bread flavor. I also used it to dip in some soup the other day. It made a pretty good soup vehicle, again due to the low absorbancy.
Since this entire blog series deals in minutiae, it's worth mentioning the packaging and form factor. The loaf comes in a weird kind of "half-loaf", where there's a crust piece on only one side. It's still double-wrapped in the usual Oroweat fashion, but without a twist-tie at the top. Instead, there's a sticker on one end that is used for folding the bag down like a flap and sticking it closed. By the end of the week, the sticker is starting to lose its effectiveness. I'm not a big fan.
Having the half-loaf is actually good, though, since I don't tend to make good use of the end-pieces. The bread itself is shaped kind of oblong. Four slices of bread don't fit on the plate too well, but these things barely matter.
I've been eating it for about a week now, and I have to say it's pretty great. I would get it again!
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