Three sandwich masters share the vital steps to building the ultimate salad sanga

One glance at the salad sandwich at Glory Us, a cafe in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North, and you know a lot of thought has gone into its creation. Two decades of obsession, actually.

“This is the salad sandwich I’ve made since I bought my first cafe nearly 20 years ago,” says chef and owner Tori Bicknell. The colours are a happy rainbow. There’s moisture without sloppiness. It’s bulging but nothing spills out. There’s a sense of bounty and generosity, but it’s not ridiculous: an average human could get their mouth around it. Importantly, all the elements reach the edge of the crust.

‘If you aren’t putting alfalfa and egg together, we need to talk. That combination makes the sandwich.’

Tori Bicknell, Glory Us

“Every detail has been thought about, every element is precise, and put together with consideration,” says Bicknell. She’s not joking. She worked with eight bakeries before landing on the bread she currently uses (a seeded sourdough tin loaf from Noisette).

The written instructions for staff list 13 steps for each salad sandwich. Carrot is shredded to 2mm, using a particular blade. Cucumbers are cut at an angle to 2mm, and each sandwich has three slices of cucumber. Alfalfa goes on after the freshly sliced boiled egg. “If you aren’t putting alfalfa and egg together, we need to talk,” says Bicknell. “That combination makes the sandwich.”

Tomas Telegramma, Good Food’s resident Victorian Sandwich Watch columnist, appreciates the nerdery.

“I have such strict stipulations for the ones I make at home,” he says. “I like seasoning throughout because insufficiently salted vegies can be very sad. And I ensure the soggiest ingredients are in the centre, as far away as possible from bleeding into the bread.”

So what separates a good salad sandwich from a sad, soggy mess?

Bread

“I look for bread with some squish so the salad stack can be enveloped, not slip and slide, as you eat,” says Telegramma. The bread has to be fresh.

“Same-day bread is essential,” says Candy Berger from Sydney bagelry Lox in a Box. Their Veggie Bagel starts with a schmear of cream cheese, then beetroot covers the bagel’s hole before the creation is carefully piled with red onion, tomato, carrot, pickle and rocket.

Bicknell sources bread for its strict uniformity; while many sourdough suppliers vary by up to 3cm, hers remains identical day to day. “Then it has to be the softest chew and a bread that stays consistent from 8am to 2pm – it mustn’t dry out,” she says.

Separation

“Bread needs spread” is the mantra, keeping dough sealed from drippy liquid. “We use a good quality unsalted butter, and spread it right to the edges using an offset palette knife,” says Bicknell. A schmear or slice of cheese will also keep any sogginess at bay.

“Butter and cheese are great barriers,” says Telegramma. Butter should be malleable, rather than fridge-cold, to avoid the risk of tearing the bread.

Layers

You want salad in your mouth, not on your lap. “We think about how each component sits so our sandwiches are structurally sound,” says Bicknell. “I start with well-buttered bread, right to the edges, then mum’s dressing, which is English-style with condensed milk and malt vinegar.”

Next, vintage cheddar, sliced to 1.5mm, “because it adds structure and holds the dressing in place.” After that, it’s carrot (shredded the day before so it dries out a bit and doesn’t bleed), then cucumber, tomato and beetroot sliced at the same diameter. (She uses tomato offcuts in bacon tarts.)

Tightly folding the structure in paper is important, especially if it’s being transported and eaten later.

“It’s the leaning bagel tower of Pisa,” says Berger. “You have to wrap it perfectly so it cuts neatly. It’s so beautiful when you get the cross-section right, the layers neat and no beetroot has slipped.”

Seasoning

Crucial. And not just a sprinkling of salt at the end. “Every single thing gets seasoned,” says Bicknell. “Cheese on, season. Cucumber on, season. The flavours will never come across without individual seasoning.”

At Lox in a Box, the layers are constructed so a house vinaigrette can be added at the end. “It goes on top of the rocket and seeps down, through the rocket, then the carrot,” says Berger. “It’s crucial.”

The pay-off

As well as the pleasing colour and enjoyable crunch, salad sandwiches can be health by stealth. “I’m a sandwich person, not a salad person,” says Berger. “But a salad sandwich tastes so good that I can be nicer and kinder to my body and get lots of nutrients in a way that I love.”

The versatility is a winner for Bicknell. “They’re nourishing however you come to them,” she says. “You can be hungover, tired; they’ll be there for you, nailing seven or eight veg in one package. You can adapt them for special diets, enjoy them in any situation. I think everyone would be happier if they were eating more salad sandwiches.”