A good friend received a Pullman loaf pan for Christmas, it had been on her list for many years. I had no idea what it was so I researched it and found that it was a loaf pan that makes a perfectly square slice of bread! Click here for a little history on the loaf. And of course, I fell down the rabbit hole on what this specific loaf can be utilized in and discovered that Croque-Monsieur can be one such recipe! I looked at a number of videos creating this delectable treat but landed on Binging with Babish’s Brooklyn Nine Nine recipe. Babish had made the leap and used a beautiful brioche for one of his renditions so I thought I’d pull two recipes together and made a Pullman Brioche loaf. Of course, I don’t have a Pullman loaf pan, but it’s easy to adapt your existing loaf pan (as Babish does in his video, however, I used a flat sheet sprayed with non-stick spray inverted onto the top of the loaf pan with a weight (small, cast iron frying pan) placed on the top). My loaf didn’t turn out quite square but I saved myself close to $50 in buying a pan for sandwich bread. The brioche recipe I chose wasn’t particularly good so I won’t list it here but the overall inspiration is exceptional. This is definitely not a calorie-reduced sandwich but if you feel like splurging, it’s totally worth it.
Here is the Brooklyn Nine Nine Croque Monsieur moment (the croque monsieur moment goes only to 49 seconds so you needn’t watch the entire clip).
Croque-Monsieur taken up a notch!
Makes 2 Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 4 thickly sliced brioche bread
- 120 mL béchamel sauce
- 10 mL Dijon mustard
- 2 slices of good quality, thinly sliced ham (I used an Italian ham)
- Grated cheese (traditionally Gruyère)
- Butter
Directions:
- Toast the brioche slices on one side. Butter the on untoasted side of each slice.
- Add about 30 mL of béchamel to each toasted side of the bread. Add some cheese to both sides of the béchamel and press down.
- Spread about 5 mL mustard on each piece of ham. Fold each piece of ham to fit onto the bread and place on top. Add the second piece of bread on top of the ham, cheese side down. Place into a pre-heated cast iron pan.
- Press down on the sandwiches to compress slightly. Cover and cook each side until golden and cheese has melted.
- Cut each sandwich into two and serve with a dill pickle.
Sounds and looks delicious, Eva! Béchamel does make everything taste better!
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I like to add a little dijon to the bechemel. I don’t know where I picked that trick up so I now claim it as my own. Beautiful sandwich1 GREG
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i always find brioche too sweet and rich for a savoury dish but the croque monsieur is a wonderful thing. i am intrigued by the pullman loaf tin. i just googled it to see what it looked like. i suppose you could just whack a baking tray on top of a loaf tin …
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I love croque monsieur. I love Brooklyn 99! And I love love Binging with Babish!! So this is a triple-love for me. I’ve never made any of Babish’s recipes, so it’s good to hear that they’re on the up-and-up. (His videos are more a source of entertainment for me.)
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I love this dish! Best toasted ham and cheese sandwich going. 🙂 I like Croque Madame a lot, too — basically the same thing, with a fried egg garnish. Really nice — thanks.
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Definitely I would love to have this for breakfast
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I didn’t know that that pan had a name but I love that!! Thanks for letting us know about the Pullman loaf tin. My friend and I were just discussing our love of Charles Boyle and B99! This looks wonderful Eva, I love anything with melted cheese on it!
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I have a pullman pan that I bought at a garage sale and have never used. It is time. This is one of my favorite sandwiches!
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Thanks for the comment Abbe, you should definitely make this, it’s so good.
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Mmmmmmmm. This is fabulous. I’d eat bechamel on just about anything!
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Or just standing in front of the stove.
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YUM! I have that pan, so I need to put it to use! Your croque looks amazing—I’d even eat it right now for breakfast 🙂
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I love my pullman baking pan. The sandwich looks incredibly delicious with melted cheese!
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
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