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“A baker’s sandwich exhibits a special touch. It always consists of the smallest number of high-quality ingredients necessary for a tasty sandwich. The ingredients are sensitively handled and carefully arranged, so that they unite between the toasted bread in a neat and harmonious way. The result is like a good loaf, elemental and satisfying, and elegant in its simplicity.”
-Daniel Leader, owner of Bread Alone, in Panini Express

Mmm, panini…who can resist its aroma sizzling on the grill? A warm, deeply flavorful, deeply satisfying sandwich that’s scrumptious to eat and easy to make—no wonder Americans use their toasters but love their panini presses. And now, in PANINI EXPRESS: 70 Delicious Recipes, Hot Off the Press (The Taunton Press, February 26, 2008), master baker Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman prove making them is half the fun!

The approach—pressing fillings and condiments between bread--is simple, but with Dan Leader leading the way, the results are sensational. PANINI EXPRESS shows how to:

• Select the best breads for grilling (opt for European hearth style over airy commercial bread which dries out when pressed). Leader, founder of the renowned bakery Bread Alone, also offers basic recipes for ciabatta rolls, pizza breads, flatbreads, focaccia and baguettes for a completely homemade taste.
• Use mayonnaises, pestos, fruit compotes, chutneys and other sandwich enhancers to intensify flavor and moisten the sandwich.
• Make the most of your panini press, including how to save time by cooking pizza dough, vegetables or shrimp right on the press.
• Choose the best, seasonal ingredients to compose a sandwich that is both tasty and visually appealing.

While classic panini hails from Italy, the flavors in Panini Express range far and wide, and are in many ways a Valentine to the places and people that have touched Leader in his travels and studies. Just a sampling of the recipes include:

• Traditional Prosciutto, Spinach and Cremini Mushroom Puree is a taste of Italy, while Smoked Salmon with Hard Boiled Egg and Garlic Mayonnaise recalls a cooks’ meal in Stockholm and Knockwurst with Coarse Mustard and Pear-Apple Compote brings back a bakers’ breakfast shared in Munich.
• His daughter’s travels to the Middle East informed Spiced Chickpea Spread with Tomatoes while Leader’s Eastern-European immigrant grandfather inspired Corned Beef with Muenster and Wilted Cabbage.
• Barbequed Chicken with Celery and Blue Cheese is a tribute to his hometown of Buffalo, while Asian Tuna Panini, the Catskills Cubano, and Shrimp, Avocado and Mango Salsa Quesadillas hearken to places farther afield.
• Bread and Chocolate, a snack beloved by schoolchildren across Europe, and Blueberry and Crème Fraiche Brioche, an elegant breakfast or dessert, take panini out of its lunch box and into every meal of the day.

Every recipe is made with ingredients that can be readily found at the market or prepared quickly at home, often in the time it takes for the press or griddle to heat up. So, what are you waiting for? Pour some wine, turn up the heat, and let the sizzling begin!

Advance Praise for Panini Express
“Panini Express celebrates the delicious combinations of warm bread, melted cheese, and a global array of fillings--the results are mouthwatering.”
- Rick Smilow, President and Owner, The Institute of Culinary Education

“I have long admired Dan’s commitment to artisanal bread making. In Panini Express, he shows that his passion for the perfect sandwich goes far beyond the bread.” - Chef Terrance Brennan, Proprietor, Artisanal Premium CheeseABOUT

The Authors
Daniel Leader is the founder of the Bread Alone Bakery in New York's Catskill Mountains. Dan's food career began when, nine months short of his undergraduate philosophy degree from the University of Wisconsin, he realized his need to work with his hands as well as his mind.

He enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduated at the top of his class, and worked as a chef for some of New York City's hottest restaurants, La Grenouille and the Water Club. Then, after eight years of cooking food "too fancy to eat," he became obsessed with the idea of creating something wholesome, timeless, and beautiful. Great bread and Bread Alone were born.

Bread Alone is a European style bakery that makes traditional hearth-baked breads. Their breads are slowly fermented and shaped by hand to fully develop their unique flavors; then baked on the hearth of two wood-fired brick ovens. Bread Alone produces fifteen tons of fresh bread per week. Everyday vans ship Leader’s 20-plus lines of Bread Alone organic loaves to his three other cafes in the New York state area, as well as his 150 East Coast wholesale outlets, including New York City’s farmers’ markets, and upscale chains such as Whole Foods and Dean & DeLuca.

Bread Alone has been using organic grains in their hand-shaped breads since 1983 and is the only certified-organic artisanal bakery in the New York metropolitan area.

Dan’s first book, Bread Alone, won the IACP award for Best Baking Book. He is also the author of Local Breads, named one of the top ten culinary books of 2007 by Martha Stewart Living. Dan has appeared on Good Morning America and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Splendid Table.

Lauren Chattman apprenticed under Francois Payard at Restaurant Daniel and was pastry chef at Nick and Toni’s in Easthampton. She is the author of six cookbooks and co-author of two. Her recipes have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Cook’s Illustrated, Vegetarian Times, The New York Times, and Redbook. Lauren has appeared on Today and QVC.

PANINI EXPRESS
70 Delicious Recipes, Hot Off the Press
By Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman
$18.95 US / $23.00 CAN
ISBN: 978-1-56158-960-9