🥪 Egg Mayo

Serious Sandwich 01

Curried egg mayo - shot by Robert Billington for Serious Sandwiches

Hello Sandwich Fans! It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to channel some BIG SANDWICH ENERGY. This newsletter is made possible by reader donations, either through Patreon or Substack. This money enables us to work on Serious Sandwiches every week, buy ingredients and commission photographers and writers. If you have donated or subscribed, thank you! Your subscription supports us to keep writing this newsletter, and to bring world-class writing directly to your inbox. May all your toasties be evenly golden. 

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This is the link to the very first Sandwich Board - paid subs can head over after reading to tell everyone how it should be done. We’ll post these links at the beginning and end of every newsletter.

How to begin a newsletter about sandwiches?!

We feel the weight of responsibility upon us. First, some housekeeping: 

*drumroll* 

• Each week, we’ll publish a selection of free recipes that riff off a classic sandwich or ingredient (except for every 4th week(ish), when we’ll publish a wild card sandwich). We’ll also publish one free bread recipe a month from the incredible Rebecca Maven at Frog Bakery. Our paying subscribers get to delve deeper into each theme with an article written by one of the best food writers working today. In other words, our bread is buttered on both sides. Want cool recipes? We got you. Want something more substantial to chew on? We shall provide. 

• There’s more to say about each sandwich than will fit into one newsletter - that’s what the Sandwich Board is for. This discussion thread for paid subs drops at the same time as the newsletter and we’ll link to it at the beginning and end, so you can head right over and tell everyone why your version is THE BEST, and why our addition of Worcestershire sauce is just plain WRONG. We want to build a sandwich community, so get involved! 

• Some weeks will focus on a classic sandwich, like this one, but we reserve the right to Get Weird and have fun directions planned. It’s gonna be a ride, so buckle up (not too tightly, ooft) and remember to always channel plenty of BIG SANDWICH ENERGY. 

And so we begin, nervously, with one of the most well-loved fillings. Yup, it’s egg mayo - a super-soft, endlessly customisable and enduringly popular QUEEN, capable of sliding into either a breakfast, lunch or tea time slot. At its simplest, the egg mayo has just three ingredients (bar seasoning) - egg, mayo and bread. She stuns and she delights with her simplicity! At the other end of the spectrum, things can get interesting. Ask yourself: do you know when to stop?

The bread

Softness is everything, which is why Japanese shokupan - its milky crumb irresistible as a kitten’s belly - works fantastically well. On the flip side, there’s seeded granary, beloved of pre-pack sandwich shops and cress-fanciers. 

Us? We think a sturdy white sandwich loaf is unbeatable. It should have a springy crumb and a crackly golden crust, yet yield easily between the teeth. It’s easy to eat, but it satisfies, and a mouthful of crust requires a sideways tug with gnashed teeth to get the job done. This God Tier Loaf can be hard to find, which is why we tasked Rebecca Maven of Frog Bakery to come up with a recipe. This is the OG - the only white sandwich loaf recipe you’ll ever need. 

White Sandwich Loaf Recipe by Rebecca Spaven of Frog Bakery
(makes two loaves: one for you, one for your freezer)

You’ll need: 

Two medium-sized loaf tins (roughly 180 x 115 x 90mm)

Large mixing bowl

Weighing scales

¼ teaspoon measure

Poolish (make between 5 - 12 hours before mixing final dough)

95g cold water

95g strong white bread flour

1.5g (around ¼ teaspoon) instant dried yeast 

Final Dough

950g strong white bread flour

430g water

190g milk

190g poolish

Pinch instant dried yeast

25g salt

Vegetable oil, for oiling the tins 

Method

• At least five hours before you want to mix your dough, mix the yeast with the water until incorporated, then mix in the flour. 

• If you’re mixing the poolish more than 5 hours before use, put it in the fridge to avoid over-fermentation. 

• When your poolish is ready to use, it should look lively, with lots of bubbles, and have thinned out to a watery consistency. 

• For the final dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the water and milk, and scrunch together with your hands until all the liquid is absorbed, and your dough has a shaggy consistency. Leave covered with a tea towel for 30 minutes. 

• Next, add the poolish, salt and the extra pinch of yeast to your mixing bowl, and mix with your hands again until the extra liquid has been absorbed. Transfer to a lightly oiled table and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable. 

• Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a plastic bag or tea towel, and leave to rise for two hours in total, with a fold after hour one. To perform a fold, scoop up one half of the dough with your hand, gently pull it away from the bowl and then fold it over into the middle of the dough. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and do the same. Repeat until the dough has had four of these folds. 

• After two hours of fermentation, the dough should be aerated and risen significantly. Lightly oil your loaf tins with vegetable oil.

• Divide the dough in half - each piece should be roughly 900g. On a lightly floured surface, tease one piece into a rough square shape, then fold the left and right side into the middle to meet each other. You should have a long rectangular shape now. From the top of the rectangle, roll the dough up like a swiss roll, and place seam side down into your oiled tin. Repeat with the other piece. 

• Leave to rise for another hour, covered with a tea towel. 

• Preheat your oven to 230C, placing an oven-proof tray deep enough to hold water in the bottom to heat up. 

• Just before you’re ready to bake, give your loaves four or five diagonal slashes to the top with a sharp serrated knife, place them in the oven and pour water into the tray to create steam, quickly closing the door to trap as much as possible. This will help achieve a thinner, crispier crust. 

• Turn the oven to 200C and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, open the door briefly to release the steam. 

• Remove from the tins as soon as they come out of the oven and leave to cool for at least an hour before slicing. 

The eggs

It goes without saying that you should use good eggs. That’s just basic. They should be fully hard-boiled with just a slight squidge, possibly enriched with an extra yolk or two and - this part is important - be allowed to rest in the fridge once mixed with the mayonnaise - for at least 30 minutes but ideally overnight. We know. 

This stage is specific to an egg mayo sandwich filling. If you’re eating oeufs mayonnaise at a brasserie or fancy natural wine bar, for example, you don’t want your egg mayo stiffened, you want it soft, slightly gooey, warm even, with a couple of anchovies draped artfully on top. In a sandwich, that’s just asking for trouble. It’ll be too wet. Unmanageable. You think you want slightly warm egg mayo in a sandwich, but you don’t. Reserve body-temp egg for other uses.  

The mayo

There are people who will swear by Japanese Kewpie - a good option because it’s slightly sweet and contains MSG. There is, simply, no greater union than MSG and eggs. If you still have a problem with MSG then you should read this article immediately. It’s definitely not a cop-out, it’s certainly not used ‘instead of proper flavour’, and it’s 100% not bad for you. 

However. Home-made mayonnaise will be fantastic, as will aioli, as will salad cream, as will - TOP TIP - Heinz sandwich spread (yes, we will be dedicating a whole newsletter to that at some point). What do we use most often? Yeah, it’s Hellman’s. 

The seasonings

Good stuff to add to an egg mayo includes alliums, otherwise known as ‘oniony things’ e.g. chives, different types of diced onion, garlic in some form. Fishy things, e.g. anchovies. Pickly things e.g. gherkins, capers. Hot things e.g. togarashi, paprika, hot sauce, chilli oil. Fragrant bits, e.g herbs. Crunchy bits, e.g. diced vegetables, toasted seeds. 

The recipes 

Classic: A Top-tier Egg Mayo Sandwich 
This is really hard to beat. The softest white bread, the richest egg filling and seasoning that is bang on point. If you like it really intense, add an extra yolk. Re: refrigeration, we often make double so we can have an extra-fridged one the next day. 

2 slices soft white sandwich bread 

2 free range eggs 

2 tablespoons mayo (use Kewpie if you like yours on the sweeter side, omitting the MSG below)  

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

¼ teaspoon malt vinegar  

1 pinch MSG 

Couple of pinches white pepper 

Couple of generous pinches salt 

• First, properly hard boil the eggs by lowering them into gently boiling water (starting from cold makes them hard to peel as the shell fuses to the egg). Cook for 7 minutes for an egg with a very slightly fudgy centre, then immediately plunge into a bowl of cold water and leave for a couple of minutes before attempting to peel. 

• Peel by gently tapping the egg all over on a work surface to break the shell, then tease it away. 

• Add all the other ingredients except the chives (and the bread, obvs) and mash well with a fork. 

• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight, to let the mixture stiffen up a bit, then mix in the chives. 

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The Curried Egg Mayo
It’s the Bombay Mix that makes this, and you know it. 

2 slices soft white sandwich bread

2 free range eggs 

1 tablespoon Hellman's (it just works better here) 

1 tablespoon yoghurt 

1 teaspoon Madras curry powder

1 tablespoon chopped coriander 

Generous pinch pul biber chilli flakes 

½ - 1 teaspoon lemon juice 

Salt and pepper 

1 small handful of Bombay Mix (crispy fried onions would also be fun) 

• Follow the egg boiling method above, then mash with all the other ingredients except the Bombay Mix, which you should add just before eating. 

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The Egg Salad 
Americans eh? More is more. 

2 slices soft white sandwich bread

2 free range eggs 

2 tablespoons mayo 

1 x 2-inch stick of celery, finely chopped  

1 large cornichon, finely chopped  

1 teaspoon capers 

1 handful mixed chopped herbs e.g. tarragon, chives, dill 

The green part of 1 spring onion, very finely sliced 

½ teaspoon Dijon

Small squeeze lemon

1 anchovy fillet, cut in half lengthways

Small pinch paprika 

Celery salt to season 

Pepper 

• Follow the egg boiling method above, then mash with all the other ingredients except the anchovy, which should be draped over each half of the filling before eating.

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The Caesar 
Way, way better than we thought it would be. 

2 slices soft white sandwich bread

2 free range eggs 

2 rashers of streaky bacon 

2 leaves Romaine lettuce 

1 tablespoon mayo (we’d avoid Kewpie here) 

1 tablespoon yoghurt 

A few drops of Worcestershire sauce 

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ clove garlic, grated to a paste 

2 anchovy fillets, very finely chopped  

1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve

Black pepper  

• Combine the garlic and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and set aside. 

• Follow the egg boiling method in the classic recipe while you crisp up the streaky bacon - and we mean properly crisp. Grill it, if possible. 

• Mix the eggs with the mayo, yoghurt, Worcestershire, the garlic-lemon mix, the anchovies and 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan. Season with pepper. 

• Build the sandwich by layering up lettuce, bacon, and the egg mix (taste and add more lemon juice and a pinch of salt, if needed) then finish with another generous grating of Parm. 

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Until next time, Sandwich Fans!