Is there anyone who has a good formula for a REAL honest to goodness New Orleans style Po Boy bread. This bread is the basis for the famous Po Boy sandwich. P.S. I am not seeking a baguette recipe. Po Boy bread is long, like a baguette but thats where the similarities end. Po Boy bread is only made in and around New Orleans. Its crust is shatteringly crisp and paper thin. If I recall correctly it has a semi open crumb but no giant holes. I also think it has some ingredient that gives it a longer shelf life, like maybe 8 hrs. Purchased locally, in New Orleans, it is about 20 24 inches long and is more puffy than a baguette. Also it has much less chew than a baguette. I have a number of different formulas but none of them are close to the real thing. So, if you have a formula, recipe that you have made could you pls share it ? Thank you.
Eric Hanner had posted a recipe that seemed pretty good.
Txfarmer did a version, but I think it's a little darker/more robust than Leidenheimer bread:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24960/new-orleans-poboy-bread-it039s-all-eric039s-fault
Here is another thread that has some good examples of Leidenheimer bread:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22856/help-needed-increase-height-poboy-loaf-recipe
I think baking with lots of steam and using a lower-protein flour are important. Lower protein helps increase crispness of crust and reduce chew. Steam is key for getting the crust right. Intensive knead should help with setting a fine, soft texture.
Use the search here, I'm sure you can find more examples.
The bottom line is that Leidenheimer's bread is a standard for good reason; they have specific mass-produced quality control measures that enable them to design their bread in a more precise way than is available to most home bakers, or even restaurants for that matter; that's part of why so many in NOLA just buy direct from them.
So no recipe is going to duplicate Leidenheimer, but these examples might get you closer.
One more related link about Leidenheimer po-boy bread
Thank you I´ll check out those links
I forgot to ask, as I remember it the Leidenheimer Po Boy Bread is NOT slashed. Is that correct ?
Hi Ramses2,
Yes, it is not slashed. Here are a couple of photos:
OH, MY GOODNESS. THOSE SANDWICHES LOOK DELICIOUS. TERRIBLE THING TO DO TO AN OLD MAN. YOU ARE MAKING MY MOUTH WATER. DEEP FRIED SHRIMP PO BOY. MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH CRANBO