Meatball Subs

One would think that four months into this project that I wouldn't forget to take pictures of the final product.  Well, think again.  I served meatball subs for both lunch and dinner and didn't take a single picture of the actual sandwich.  I guess I'm lucky that I at least took pictures of the bread and meatballs.  Please use your imagination from there!

First, the recipe for the sub rolls.  Although I thought I did really well getting the wheat flour to liquid ratio correct, I was disappointed with the outcome.  The rolls seemed too flat.  Once I started thinking about it though, the recipe was supposed to make 8 sub rolls.  I made 7 rolls and 8 mini-rolls for the daycare kids.  They probably would've been thicker/larger if I had only made 8 rolls.  But, after eating the sandwich, Hubby and I decided that we liked them flatter.  They have a great flavor, hold together even with the juiciness of the meatballs, and weren't too big to get your mouth around.  I think I'm going to start making them for sandwiches instead of wheat bread (way fewer crumbs).  I liken them to the sandwich deli flatbreads or bagel thins that are popular right now.


6 sandwich rolls and 2 mini rolls



1 1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. yeast

2 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 - 3 cups whole white wheat flour*

*You want just enough flour that the dough is not sticky to the touch.  When you pull it apart, it should be a little sticky, but a dusting of flour takes care of it.  I started with 2 cups and added a little bit at a time until the dough would pull away from the bread hook fairly easily.  I used about 2 2/3 cups.

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl (or stand mixer).  Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.  Add oil, and salt and about half of the flour.  Mix by hand or with mixer.  Continue to add flour until you have a workable dough.  Shape dough into 8 sub shaped rolls.  I made mine flatter so it would be more sandwich like (and not so much like a hot dog bun).  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Use a bread knife to make diagonal slits across the top (2-4 depending on how big the rolls are).  Cover and let rest 45 minutes.  After resting, remove cover and mist the tops of the rolls with water.  I used a spray bottle that Hubby puts grill fires out with.  Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Slice through the center and stuff with your choice of sandwich ingredients.

Meatballs (I made enough for 2 meals)

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup parmesan

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

*If you want to go dairy-free on this one, they are just as good without the paremsan and you can use tomato juice in place of the milk-especially if you are going to serve them with a marinara sauce anyway.  A milk alternative could also be used.  And make sure that your milk isn't flavored... yeah, vanilla flavored cream of mushroom soup is NOT tasty!

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Use your hands to make the meatball the size you want them.. I made mine about an inch (for daycare) or an inch-and-a-half (for family).  For the daycare batch, I put the meatballs in a greased, mini muffin pan.  With the sides going up around them, they browed quickly and cooked in about 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven (baking rolls at the same time).  The bigger ones wouldn't fit well in the muffin wells, so I just placed them on a stoneware jelly roll pan and baked them in about 20 minutes.  They didn't get as brown, but with the sauce on them, who could tell anyway?

For the sauce, I used a store-brand, organic jarred marinara.  Since getting rid of canned goods, I was trying out jarred sauce to see how it would be.  It was good.  This summer, I hope to make my own, but at $2.50 a jar, it will work just fine for now.

So, there you have it, made from scratch meatball subs.  Enjoy!