Sharon, I just cracked open my oldest "Joy of Cooking" and there is about ten pages devoted to tea sandwiches. It suggests using 1 lb loaves, white and whole wheat, that have a fine texture. Then it goes on about how to stack and make cuts, along with fillings.

I've got a couple of really busy days ahead of me but I can scan the pages, if you need me to, this weekend.

Nancy

Just go to a local neighborhood bakery and order the bread you need.

I often visit tea rooms and entertain with tea parties. I just hosted one for my aunt about a month ago and will be making about 200 tea sandwiches for an event on August 4th.

Sounds like she wants the kind that has three layers of fillings and is sometimes frosted with cream cheese, chilled, and sliced vertically. I can't help you with the bread making for that style because I haven't made it for about 45 years, when unsliced sandwich bread was more readily available.

However, if you decide to do any alternative varieties of tea sandwiches, I should be able to give you some tips and ideas.

A basic "milk bread" will be dense enough...1 1/2 cups of milk, 2 packages yeast ( or equivanent) in 1/4 cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar. couple of tablespoons of butter, crisco or margerine....2 tsps salt.
About 4 cups flour
Scald milk, add butter and allow to cool...
Proof yeast in water with sugar....
Add 2 cups of flour to cooled milk....beat....add yeast, and beep adding flour until stiff enough to knead...knead about 7 minutes....allow to rise....punch down and divide and place in straight sided loaf pan....let rise and bake 350....about 40 minutes until done.

Fillings... egg salad, ham salad...pimento cheese ( A chedder cheese spread, mixed with cream cheese and pimento) olive spread, cream cheese, moistened with a little cream with chopped olives mixed in) chicken salad....shrimp salad....all the meats chopped fine and mixed with a little mayo.

Make checkerboards...slice bread lenghtwils....stacl alternate dark bread and white, with a filling between....cut into 3/8 inch slices and re stack...with the white over the dark...form again into a loaf....slice and voila....checkerboards!
Cut slices of bread....roll thin with a rolling pin....spread on a filling, roll up and slice....pinwheels!!
Cucumber sandwiches....thin cream cheese with a little cream....season with beau monde, spread on little quarters of bread, top with cucumber slice and garnish with sprig of dill.

many years ago ( almost long enough that I have erased from my memory!...but not quite!!) I hosted a mother daughter tea.....with freekin' tea sandwiches!!
Have fun!!
Linda C

It will be MUCH easier of you can buy your bread!!!
Linda C

the one with the 3 layers of filling and frosted with a thinned cream cheese is properly called a sandwich loaf. A friend's sister made beautiful ones....trimmed with flowers made from carrot bits, dill fronds, chive stems and viola flowers....
Can be hard to cut neatly....but look beautiful sitting on the table!!

Another vote to buy your bread. We have a couple of bakeries and delis in our area that will not only bake the bread for you, but they will color it in pastels (one color per 2 loaves) AND they will slice it horizontally using one of their nifty keeno slicer machines.
Smiles,
Sooz

Thanks for your input...

Nancy, no don't go to that trouble, if I can deal with the bread issue I can get enough info but thanks.

Ruthanna, I am making three layer finger sandwiches and pinwheel sandwiches which she seems to think need the unsliced bread , but I see Linda rolls a regular slice ? I'm also making triangle ones any tips you have are appreciated.

Linda thanks for the bread recipe. If I could buy the bread I would in a heart beat but no stores up here make or sell unsliced sandwich bread....some days I truly miss living in the city!

Sharon, I'd make a good old fashioned farmhouse white or sandwich loaf. they are notnot fluffy, both are relatively dense and especially would work for the 3 layered one. If you bake one loaf of honey wheat, you could make a white/brown/white layered sandwich, Grandma used to do that.

Normally I'd just use Grandma's recipe, which has been posted all over here, but King Arthur also has a good one on their website:

White Sandwich Loaf

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water*
1 heaping tablespoon honey
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules
*Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.

Directions

1) Mix all of the ingredients in the order listed, and mix and knead � by hand, or using a stand mixer � to make a smooth dough. It won't be particularly soft nor stiff; it should be smooth and feel bouncy and elastic under your hands.

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, or large (8-cup) measuring cup. Cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's become quite puffy, though not necessarily doubled in size.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into a fat 9" log. Place it in a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.

4) Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's crowned 1" to 1 1/2" over the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350�F.

5. Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Tent it lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, till it's golden brown. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will read 195�F to 200�F.

6) Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out onto a rack to cool. When completely cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature.

Yield: 1 large loaf, about 18 servings.

It takes me about 6-8 minutes to knead a loaf by hand, maybe 5 minutes in the stand mixer. I usually use the bread machine on "dough" but I don't remember you having one.

I also don't bother to "tent" the loaf as mine doesn't seem to get too brown, but it depends on the oven and other factors.

Bake away and have fun at the party.

Annie

Sharon, here is a link to a recipe for "tea sandwich bread".

Also another link to a site with lots of suggestions for tea sandwich fillings.

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Living Magazine

Sharon....by regular slices...I meant long slices from unsliced bread

When making salad type fillings, use only enough mayo to bind the ingredients together so it doesn't soak into the bread and make it soggy. For two or three layer sandwiches, stack the bread slices and remove the crusts first. Apply the filling and then cut into triangles, squares or fingers. For a large quantity, you can also make taco-style sandwiches. Cut the bread slices into the largest circles you can without including any crust. Spoon the filling into the center only. Pull up opposite sides of the bread, put a dab of cream cheese where they meet and squeeze to secure.

You don't need to make a different shape for each type of filling but don't use the same filling for two different shapes.

I put the finished sandwiches in plastic containers with a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap between the layers. Before the lid is tightly secured and they're refrigerated, I place a damp dish towel on a top layer of plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

You can also use filled tiny party buns to give variety to the presentation. The bakery at our Walmart will make 3" mini-croissants if ordered in advance. I fill them with sliced rare roast beef, one or two baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced halved and deseeded plum tomatoes and a creamy horseradish spread. If men are attending, I have to make an extra quantity of these. An open faced sandwich with caper cream cheese topped with an X of smoked salmon strips is good on those thin pumpernickel party bread squares.

Don't forget the vegetarians. My personal favorite tea sandwich is: slice of wheat bread, cream cheese mixed with finely chopped green olives, slice of white bread, egg salad, slice of wheat bread. The pinwheels as Linda recommended making them are good with watercress butter and a steamed and chilled asparagus stalk. Cream cheese mixed with grated carrots, chopped toasted pecans and a little honey and cinnamon on dark bread is another meatless one.

If you want to get fancier, you can spread the long edge of triangles with mayo and dip in chopped parsley or nuts. Chicken salad with chopped almonds on the edge is a tasty combination.

Pop your crusts into a freezer bag and save to dry out and make bread crumbs after the party is over.

I hope you have fun with this project and wish you success with your ribbon loaves.

I think fancy chicken salad would be a good filling. I like mine with half sour cream and half mayo (or all sour cream) and fresh or dried fruit and toasted nuts. I also like egg salad made with sour cream- it doesn't taste as different as you'd think, just really good. I like to medium boil the eggs rather than hard boil, so the yolk sort of dissolves when you mix everything together.

If you want to make the square loaves, you'll want to get a "pullman loaf" pan - it has a top, that's what makes them square. You might be able to find an unsliced pullman loaf at an upscale grocery store with a bakery, too.

Good luck

Chase, if you can't find a Pullman Pan locally King Arthur has them.

/tricia (I really enjoy going to Tea at the inn. Should be a fun party.)

Here is a link that might be useful: KA Pullman Pan

I know they're a lot of trouble, but I sure do love good tea sandwiches.

To add to ruthanna's post...to keep the mayo from soaking into the bread, lightly butter it first.
And a note on chicken salad and egg salad made with sour cream...please don't! Some of us have lactose problems and finding dairy in unexpected places can create a problem. Who would think to crunch a lactaid pill when eating a tuna sandwich? Not me! Also don't put nuts in every thing....and leave them in easily identifiable pieces,

check the link below for some yummy sandwich fillings!

Here is a link that might be useful: delicious recipes

Good point that people usually expect mayo only. If you go that route, it might be a good idea to put a small "contains dairy" or "contains dairy and nuts" card in front of the platter and also have turkey and hummus or something else as an option.

You folk are enablers of the best kind! :)

I just ordered the "pullman" pan from KA. I'm out of my mind given the duty and shipping costs but this lady is just so special and she has her heart set on tea sandwiches.

Thanks for all the links and idea. I'm really looking forward to this now!

First of all, you have GOT to learn how to spell
sandwiches. It is S-A-N-G-U-I-T-C-H-E-S.
CAPEESH?