Our family appreciates the versatility, nutrition, and delicious taste of eggs. Once a week, we enjoy egg salad on homemade sandwich bread. It’s a great meal to send to work or pack in school lunches too.

STEP ONE – Cook the Eggs

1. For 4 servings, we cook 5 eggs.
2. Place the eggs in the bottom of a medium-size pot.
3. Cover the eggs with cold water, at least an inch above them.
4. Set the saucepan to high heat.
5. Once water is boiling, remove from heat, cover the pot, and set the timer for 18 minutes.
6. When the timer goes off, remove the lid, place the pot in the sink, and run cold water over the eggs. Leave them in the cold water to completely cool.

STEP TWO – Bread Preparations

1. Get out a stand mixer and a small glass measuring cup.
2. Spray a 9×5-inch bread pan with cooking spray.
3. Set up a cooling rack.

STEP THREE – Prepare the Yeast Mixture

Ingredients:

1 packet of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of sweetener (honey, sugar, or syrup)

Instructions:

1. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer.
2. Add the warm water.
3. Mix in the sweetener.
4. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and gently stir to incorporate.
5. Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes to proof. You can move on to STEP FOUR while you’re waiting.

STEP FOUR – Prepare the Flour Mixture

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
4 cups of flour
⅓ cup of warm water
2 tablespoons of sweetener
½ tablespoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon of sea salt

Instructions:

1. In the measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and let cool for a few minutes.
2. Add the flour, warm water, sweetener, vinegar, salt and melted butter to the proofed yeast mixture.
3. Use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients around into a rough dough.

STEP FIVE – Make the Bread

1. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer and add the dough hook.
2. Knead the dough on low speed for 3 minutes or so until the dough forms a ball.
3. Speed up the mixer and let it knead the dough for 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. If the dough is too dry, add a little warm water, and if it’s too wet, add a little flour until it’s at the right consistency.
4. Once the dough is nicely kneaded, remove the bowl from the mixer.
5. With your hands, fold over the dough a few times in the bowl.
6. Lift up the dough, spray the bottom of the mixing bowl with canola spray, and return the dough to the mixer.
7. Place the bowl in a warm spot, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rise for about 1 hour until it’s doubled in size. You can move on to STEP SEVEN while you’re waiting.

STEP SIX – Assemble and Bake

1. Once the dough has risen, lightly flour a countertop and place the dough on it.
2. Press the dough into an evenly-thick rectangle with the short sides about 8-inches wide.
3. From the short end, roll into a log.
4. Pinch to seal the ends and seam and place the dough in the prepared loaf pan, seam side down.
5. Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for another hour or until it’s risen an inch over the top of the bread pan.
6. About half-an-hour into the final rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the bread is golden brown. Tap the top, and if it sounds hollow inside, it’s done.
8. Let the bread cool on the rack for 10 minutes before slicing into it.

STEP SEVEN – Make the Egg Salad

Ingredients:

5 cooked and cooled hardboiled eggs
1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of sour cream
Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Gently tap the shells of the eggs along the inside of the kitchen sink.
2. With the cold water running, peel the eggshells off the eggs. Go slowly so the whites don’t tear off.
3. Cut the cleaned eggs into small and uniform pieces. We only use the white of the 5^th egg to add some extra protein without the added fat.
4. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, and salt. Adjust the amounts if you like it creamier or more seasoned.
5. Chill the egg salad until it’s ready to serve.
6. When the bread if baked and cooled, slice it into 1-inch-thick pieces and add a scoop of egg salad.

Recommended serving size: 2 1-inch-thick bread slices and ¼ of egg salad

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 protein, 2 fat