Years ago, I stumbled upon a sandwich eatery called Ike's Love and Sandwich. I wasn't expecting much, but I was hooked after tasting their sandwich. They use a special Dutch crunch bread that takes their sandwiches to the next level. I crave it so often now that I decided to make the bread myself. After many attempts, I'm happy to say I can now make my version! Now I can enjoy a homemade halal chicken sandwich on Dutch crunch bread every week!
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
What makes Dutch crunch bread so special? It's all about the topping. After shaping the rolls, you brush on a thick paste made from rice flour and yeast. Then, as the bread bakes and rises in the oven, the topping cracks and creates a crunchy shell. It's magical.
Prepare the dough by activating the yeast in warm milk. Then, knead all of the ingredients together, either in a stand mixer or by hand, until you have a smooth dough. Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into an oblong shape so that you have 6 sandwich long rolls. If you need guidance on how to shape the rolls, I strongly suggest watching a YouTube video - that's how I learned!
You can also shape them into round rolls but for some reason, whenever I shaped them into round rolls, the cracked topping wasn't as pronounced.
While the rolls are proofing, make the topping. All you have to do is mix rice flour with active dry yeast, sugar, oil, water, and salt until well combined. Now, the brand of rice flour can affect the consistency of your paste. You want it to be thick, almost like glue but not too thick that you can't spread it.
If your paste is too runny, add a tablespoon of rice flour at a time until it thickens. I also encourage you to use a scale for better accuracy when measuring the ingredients.
Brush a generous amount of the topping on each of the rolls; you want to use the entire mix. Since the paste is thick, I found it easier to directly pour it on the rolls and gently spread it to the edges using a pastry brush.
Wipe off the excess paste from the sheet pan and let the sandwich rolls sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven and place a pan filled with boiling water in the oven. The steam from the water will help the rolls expand, a crucial step to get the crackling effect.
Bake the Dutch crunch rolls in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on both the top and bottom. And there you have it! Beautifully browned rolls with lovely crackling on the top and a soft texture inside.
Now you can prepare any sandwich you like with these rolls but I wanted to mimic the ones at Ike's sandwiches. And so, I decided to prepare a halal chicken sandwich with Dutch crunch bread.
Prepare the chicken marinade by blending the ingredients. Pour the marinade over the chicken breast or chicken thighs and let it sit for at least one hour. My chicken breast was very thick, so I cut it in half and pounded it with a mallet.
If you're planning on making the bread and the actual sandwich on the same day, you can start by first marinating the chicken and then making the bread dough. Once the bread is baked, the chicken should be ready to be cooked.
Alternatively, make the Dutch crunch bread the day before and prepare the actual sandwich the day of.
In true Ike's fashion, I decided to make two sauces for this sandwich. You have a basic honey mustard sauce and then the godfather sauce. The godfather sauce is just mayonnaise with spices, but when you pair it with the honey mustard and the chicken, it's incredibly delicious.
Ike's also gives you the option to add free toppings to your sandwich including lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickled jalapenos, and pepperoncini. I, of course, always get all of them so I had to include them in this recipe too.
Cook the halal chicken until the juices run clear, then top them with pepper jack cheese.
Slice the Dutch crunch bread in half, toast, and assemble the sandwiches. Spread the godfather sauce on the bottom bun, pile on the halal chicken, lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, pepperoncini, red onion, honey mustard, and the final bun. A work of art, isn't she?
To be honest, I knew my halal chicken sandwich on Dutch crunch bread wouldn't compare to Ike's. But I was proven wrong! The duo of sauces with fresh toppings, pickled ingredients, and well-seasoned chicken all work so well together. And then that gorgeous bread with crispy topping just seals the deal. Excuse me while I stuff my face with another.
For more sandwich inspiration check out this doner kebab sandwich!
Recipe
Halal Chicken Sandwich on Dutch Crunch Bread
Ingredients
Dutch crunch bread
- 1 ¼ cups warm milk, between 100-110 degrees F (312 ml)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12 grams)
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (8 grams)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (425 grams)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (28 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Bread topping
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (8 grams)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12 grams)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (11 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup warm water between 100-110 degrees F (125 ml)
- ¾ cup rice flour (90 grams)
Halal chicken
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast or thigh skinless, boneless
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Godfather sauce
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ⅛ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
Honey mustard
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Remaining ingredients
- 6 slices pepper jack cheese
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup pickled sliced jalapenos
- ½ cup sliced pepperoncini
- 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Make Dutch crunch bread. Combine warm milk with sugar and active dry yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Combine yeast mixture with flour, melted butter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together until a dough forms. Knead dough for 7-8 minutes or until smooth. Lightly grease a bowl and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into an oblong shape and place on a lined baking sheet. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the topping. Stir together active dry yeast with sugar, oil, salt, warm water, and rice flour in a medium bowl until well combined. Let sit for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a hotel pan filled ⅓ full with boiling water in the oven.
- Gently brush a generous amount of bread topping on rolls. Use all of the topping mixture. Wipe off excess topping that drips to the sheet pan. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Bake bread rolls for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Prepare chicken. Blend together marinade ingredients including olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper until smooth. Pour marinade over chicken, turning to coat. Let sit for at least one hour or up to 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, make godfather sauce. Whisk together mayonnaise with garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, dried basil, and oregano until well combined. Set aside.
- Make honey mustard. Whisk together dijon mustard with honey, olive oil, and lemon juice until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat large saute pan over medium heat. Cook chicken until golden brown and the juices run clear. Place sliced pepper jack cheese on top and cover the pan. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
- Slice bread in half and toast. Spread godfather sauce on bottom bun and top with chicken. Stack tomato slices on top followed by sliced red onion, jalapeno, pepperoncini, and lettuce. Spread honey mustard on top bun and place on top. Serve immediately.
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