Copycat Subway Sandwiches

We live close to a Subway restaurant, and our family eats a lot of subs.  I remember my mom making homemade subs for supper when we were kids (nothing fancy, just deli meat, cheese, some veggies, and a sub bun) and we thought it was awesome.  In an attempt to kick it up a notch (and out-do my mother), I wanted to find some copycat recipes for our favourite Subway bread & sauce... Italian Herb & Cheese bread, and Southwest Chipotle Sauce.

I found a couple different recipes for the bread (and there are lots of other copycat recipes out there for the other types of Subway bread), but I ended up using a version of this recipe.

SUBWAY ITALIAN HERB & CHEESE BREAD
1 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. honey
1 c. hot water
3 c. flour + 1 tbsp. whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt (I used Epicure's Herb & Garlic Sea Salt, coarse)
1 tbsp. Epicure's Tomato & Parmesan Cheeseball Seasoning
grated cheddar cheese (just enough to sprinkle over each loaf)

Combine yeast, honey and water and let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Combine flour, butter, and salt in a bowl and form a well.  Pour yeast mixture in and knead until smooth.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size (approx. 1 hour).  Punch down and cover and rise again.  Cut into 3 pieces and shape into loaves or rolls.  Cover and let rise.  Score each loaf a few times with a serrated knife.  Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with herbs & cheese.  Bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes with a dish of water in the oven to help create some steam.

My husband and daughter I love the Subway Southwest Chipotle Sauce, but I think it's probably safe to say that a homemade version of it would be a little healthier.  There were lots of websites with a copycat version, but I switched up the ingredients ever-so-slightly to accomodate what was in my pantry, and here's what I came up with:

SUBWAY SOUTHWEST CHIPOTLE SAUCE
1/2 c. mayo
1 1/2 tsp. lime or lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. honey mustard
Epicure's Chiptole Chili (start with a little, then add more till it tastes right - this stuff is hot so watch out!)
1/2 garlic clove, minced

Whisk all the ingredients together and refrigerate.

Here's how the sandwich turned out:

The bread wasn't as soft and light as Subway bread is, but that seems to be a trend in my bread-making... I don't think it's the fault of the recipe, but rather the fault of the baker (moi!) who clearly hasn't perfected the art of making bread.  However, the herbs and cheese on top were delicious, and you have to admit, that bread sure looked a lot like the Subway version!

The sauce was great too - a simple recipe that leaves out all the preservatives and crap they most likely put in the stuff at the restaurant.

I laid out the veggies, cheese, and meat on a plate and let the kids make their own subs, so everyone was very pleased with their personalized subs.  Another successful supper in Kathy's Kitchen!