Two stories today. One about the power of yeast and the other about a gift of food during World War II. Both come together in a sandwich.
But first, something pretty to look at.
When I first wrote about Cornish Splitters in 2011, I found them to be a quick and tasty yeast bread anyone could make for dinner. While visiting Hawaii soon after, I couldn’t resist filling the breads with Spam. It turns out Spam and Cornish Splitters are made for each other. More about that below.
Yeast demonstrates its power in Cornish Splitters, a terrific roll recipe from England. Mareth Gunstream, who got the recipe from her Cornish grandmother, generously shared it with me for my cookbook, A Baker’s Odyssey. They are unbelievably easy to make.
The dough is really a thick batter beaten briefly with a spoon, and it’s ready to bake in 45 minutes. When you want a yeast roll in a hurry, this is the recipe to use.
Spam is one of the most popular Hawaiian foods. Really. Just go into any supermarket in the state and you’ll find huge displays of the stuff in all sorts of flavors. There’s even a Lite version.
A Gift of Food During World War II
I ate Spam for the first time in Shanghai at the end of World War II, supplied by the U. S. Army following the defeat of Japan. Food was in short supply, and the salty tasty meat—which required no refrigeration—made a lasting impression on this 5-year-old’s taste buds.
Soon after the war, we emigrated to San Francisco, and though the happy memory of Spam lingered, we feasted instead on all the abundantly available fresh meat and produce.
Now when I’m in Hawaii I make every effort to partake of the local food, and Spam is definitely a huge part of it. So I buy a can of the reduced fat version and fry up a thick slice to enjoy with my poached egg each morning.
For lunch one day I got the idea to make a Spam sandwich on a yeasty roll. After all these were originally called the Sandwich Islands, so why not now the Spamwich Islands? But I didn’t want to go shopping for the bread. My solution? Bake up a batch of Cornish Splitters. Two packages of quick-rise yeast make the dough expand dramatically in 45 minutes. Those hungry little yeast cells devour the starch and sugar at a pace that would put an athlete runner to shame.