Craving a Jimmy Johns Bootlegger sub? Now you can make your own delicious version at home! Follow this step-by-step recipe to recreate the classic sandwich that’s become a fan favorite, starting with a 24-hour bread recipe for an authentic Jimmy Johns taste.
Making a Jimmy Johns Bootlegger Sub copycat has been a labor of love on Throwdown Kitchen. It all started yesterday with our version of the Jimmy Johns bread recipe. A freshly baked french sub roll, soft and fluffy inside, that is stuffed with the simplest ingredients.
Maybe that’s why this is just so good, the plain simplicity is where this sub shines. Cooked Perfectly and thinly sliced roast beef, freshly sliced turkey breast and crispy iceberg against a creamy mayo background.
We are totally focused on the bread for this Jimmy John’s copycat recipe and this is where the recipe starts. A soft, freshly baked french bread loaf.
Watch How We Made Jimmy Johns Bootlegger At Home
- Watch How We Made Jimmy Johns Bootlegger At Home
- Jimmy Johns Review
- Jimmy Johns French Bread
- What is The Jimmy Johns Unwich
- The Best Thing On Jimmy Johns Menu
- What You Will Need For The Bootlegger Sub
- Choosing The Meats For The Bootlegger Sandwich
- How To Make Jimmy John's French Bread At Home
- Copycat Jimmy Johns Bread Recipe
- No Knead Just Stir
- 24 Hours Later
- Proof Positive
- How To Make The Jimmy Johns Bootlegger
- It's Gotta Be Hellman's
- Down Goes The Meat and Cheese
- Jimmy Johns Bootlegger Copycat
- Throwdown Kitchen
- Related Posts
Jimmy Johns Review
We start our recipes whenever we can by visiting and meeting the amazing people, chefs and servers that make the food. Fortunately, there are several locations nearby, and it is a quick 10-minute drive over to the shop.
Note to self: In the same area is a Noodles and Company, Qdoba and a Chick-fil-A. Food for future copycat recipes.
Jimmy Johns French Bread
Jimmy Johns is well-known for their bread, and they do not disappoint. The bread is freshly baked and has soft french bread written all over it. It’s going to be hard to duplicate, but I think I have the answer. The French bread sub roll is going to be the focus of our copycat recipe, and we’re going to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour to get a good rise and help keep a good shape on our French bread sub rolls.
We’re taking a risk here using a no-knead method, but there is nothing like a freshly baked loaf of bread, and you must eat it within four hours of baking! Still warm is even better!
We loved the speed and attention that the staff gave us when making our sandwich. I think that may be because we beat the lunch rush. The line moved pretty fast as we expected.
The sandwich was as I remember. Even though I like my roast beef a little more on the rare side, the beef was rich and flavorful. I like the that Jimmy Johns scoops out some sub roll, it does, in fact, help the ingredients stay in the sandwich when you chow down.
What is The Jimmy Johns Unwich
If you are looking for a Keto friendly version, Jimmy John’s offers the “Unwich”. We’ve already said that the main reason to go to Jimmy Johns is the bread. However, if you are so inclined, the Unwich has all the ingredients, except the roll, wrapped in giant leaves of lettuce. It is pretty good, actually. Trendy, but good.
The Best Thing On Jimmy Johns Menu
Pretty simple ingredients for the bootlegger. It’s just an excellent sandwich. Perhaps that’s why it’s the number one seller. The Jimmy John’s menu is simpler than most sub shops. But certainly enough choices for a family visit. Good tuna salad and a good Italian cold cut both meet the grade.
But no trip to Jimmy Johns today. We’re baking up a soft French bread loaf, not a crusty baguette, and then stuffing the freshly baked roll with sliced meat and cheese from the deli counter. Easy right?
What You Will Need For The Bootlegger Sub
Starting with a French bread loaf, you’ll need the fillings. Roast beef, turkey breast, provolone cheese, iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. Unfortunately, this time of year we’ll have to make do with hothouse tomatoes, but you can bet that come summer, locally grown tomatoes will be on my shopping list. Better yet, grow them at home! Add to your list Hellman’s mayonnaise, and you’ll be all set to make one of the best homemade sub you’ve ever tasted.
Choosing The Meats For The Bootlegger Sandwich
Fresh. Freshly sliced. Ask the deli chef to slice your roast beef (4 ounces) and the turkey breast (4 ounces) for sandwiches. Also known as deli sliced. For most commercial slicers this is #2 on the slicing machine.
On the first slice, ask the attendant to hold up the meat slice so that you can see the thickness. Is it too thick? Have him dial it down a notch. One of the joys of a cold cut sub is the thinly sliced meats that are only possible from a commercial slicer. Hand carved meats are just not the same. Right?
How To Make Jimmy John’s French Bread At Home
Ok, if you want to cheat, which is fine by me, go ahead and buy a nice loaf of freshly baked french bread. The soft kind. Not a skinny baguette. We are all about fast and easy right. But in the case of a copycat recipe, we had to go all the way and bake our bread. So, here is how we did it:
The French bread sub roll will be the focus of our copycat recipe. Nothing like a freshly baked loaf of bread, but you must eat it within four hours of baking! Still warm is even better!
Copycat Jimmy Johns Bread Recipe
First, I’d like to mention that it is so important to weigh the flour and the water. For no knead dough we’ll need a specific high moisture content for our dough. 66 percent. So let’s get started.
Weigh out the bread flour (360 grams) and warm water (240 grams). The water should be 100 to 105 degrees. use an instant read thermometer to check.
To the water add sugar (1 tbsp) and active dry yeast (2 tablespoons) and stir. Let the yeast mixture sit for a few minutes, and you should see the yeast begin to bloom. This blooming step is something I always do when baking bread.
I have had the misfortune to use dead yeast, and it happens to the best, but I won’t make that mistake again. So, bloom your yeast!
No Knead Just Stir
In the next step of our copycat Jimmy John’s bread recipe, make a well in the middle of the bread flour (360 grams). Pour the water and yeast mixture into the flour well and stir until it begins to combine. Add in the sea salt (1 teaspoon) and keep stirring until a shaggy dough develops. Work the dough with another 10 to 20 strokes until it all comes together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get all the dry flour.
Finally, tightly cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. The dough should rise to almost double. It may take a little longer if the room is on the chilly side.
After this rise, put the covered bowl directly into the refrigerator for an overnight stay. This is where the magic happens for our no knead french bread. We also firmly believe that this is just one of the secrets to making a flavorful copycat Jimmy John’s french bread loaf, the longer period of proofing.
24 Hours Later
Pull the French bread dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then remove the plastic wrap. The dough will still be slightly sticky.
Lightly flour a work surface and then wet your hands. Pull the dough out onto the work surface and lightly roll the dough in the flour. Divide the dough into two equal portions.
Begin to flatten the dough balls into rectangles. This recipe will make 2 french bread sub rolls we call “foot longs”, so feel free to pull out a measuring tape to check.
Once the dough is flattened into a rectangle, roll them into a submarine shapes. Try to even out any thinner parts by rolling and shaping the dough. I don’t want pointy ends, like a baguette, so I give the ends of the loaf a submarine nose. Maybe that’s where the word comes from!
Put your French breads to be on to a baking pan that is lined with parchment paper. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and then cover the loaf with a damp towel or plastic wrap.
Proof Positive
Proof the dough for 1 hour in a warm spot.
I proof my bread loaves by turning my gas oven on until I feel the heat kick on. I immediately turn the oven off, put my dough in and turn on the oven lamp. That is enough.
After 60 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and pour into an ovenproof pan. Place this pan on the bottom shell of the oven. This is going to help us create a steamy environment for our bread to bake. The steam in the oven helps give the bread a better rise as it bakes.
Finally, put your bread pan into the middle rack of the oven and bake for 16 – 18 minutes. 18 minutes should give you a slightly crispier crust and that is precisely what we are going for. The exterior will have a nice crispy crust, while the interior will be fluffy and light.
Pull the bread out of the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before slicing it.
How To Make The Jimmy Johns Bootlegger
Jimmy John’s reputation is for bread and fast sandwiches. So, assembly of our sub will be just that. Fast and furious. We’ve waited for the bread for 24 hours, and now it’s time to eat.
Begin by shredding iceberg lettuce (1 cup) and slicing a tomato(1). Lay out the provolone (2 ounces). Place the turkey(4 ounces) slices on top of the provolone. Finally, top the turkey slices with the roast beef (4 ounces). Set this package aside.
Next, slice the loaf of bread down the middle, but make sure to leave a hinge on the bread. Don’t cut the loaf all the way through.
It’s Gotta Be Hellman’s
Lay the sandwich loaf open and spread Hellman’s Mayonnaise (4 tablespoons) on each side of the bread. Jimmy Johns scoops out some bread, but because our copycat recipe for Jimmy Johns bread is the star of the show we want all of it! Copycat recipe or not.
Layer the sliced tomatoes (4 slices) on the bottom half of the sub and then lay shredded iceberg lettuce (¼ cup) on the top half of the bun.
Down Goes The Meat and Cheese
Lay the entire package of meat and cheese on top of the iceberg and tomatoes, covering both halves of the roll.
Place your long knife down the middle of the sandwich and then close the sandwich firmly, gliding the knife out. Give the sub a squeeze to make sure it’s closed.
Finally, cut the sub in half and share. Enjoy! Chips on the plate wouldn’t hurt.
Ingredients
For The French Bread
- 360 grams Bread flour
- 240 grams Water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Active dy yeast
- 2 tsp Sea salt
For The Subs
- 1 pound Roast beef thinly sliced
- 1 pound Turkey breast thinly sliced
- 1 pound Provolone cheese thinly sliced
- 2 Tomato sliced
- 1 Head Iceberg lettuce shredded
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise Hellman's
Instructions
No Knead French Bread
- Weigh out flour (360 grams) and warm water (240 grams).
- To the water (240 grams) add oil (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tbsp) and active dry yeast (2 tbsp) and stir. Let the yeast mixture sit for a few minutes, and you should see the yeast begin to bloom. This blooming step is something I always do when baking bread.
- Next, make a well in the middle of the flour (430 grams). Pour the water and yeast mixture into the flour well and stir until it begins to combine. Add in the sea salt (2 tsp) and keep stirring until a shaggy dough develops. Work the dough with another 10 to 20 strokes until it all comes together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get all the dry flour.
- Finally, tightly cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hours. The dough should rise to almost double. It may take a little longer if the room is on the chilly side. After this rise, put the covered bowl directly into the refrigerator for an overnight stay. (12 to 24 hours)
- Pull the French bread dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then remove the plastic wrap. The dough will still be slightly sticky.Lightly flour a work surface and then wet your hands. Pull the dough out onto the work surface and lightly roll the dough in the flour. Divide the dough into two equal portions.
- Begin to flatten the dough balls into rectangles.
- Once the dough is flattened into a rectangle, shape them into a submarine shapes. Try to even out any thinner parts by rolling and shaping the dough.
- Put your French breads to be on to a baking pan that is lined with parchment paper. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and then cover the loaf with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Proof the dough for 1 hours in a warm spot.
- After 60 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and pour into an ovenproof pan. Place this pan on the bottom shell of the oven. This is going to help us create a steamy environment for our bread to bake. The steam in the oven helps give the bread a better rise as it bakes.
- Finally, put your bread pan into the middle rack of the oven and bake for 18 minutes. 18 minutes should give you a slightly crispier crust and that is exactly what we are going for. The exterior will have a nice crispy crust, while the interior will be fluffy and light.
- Pull the bread out of the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before slicing it. I like to brush a little melted butter on top for a softer crust and more flavor.
Assemble Each Bootlegger Sandwich
- Begin by shredding iceberg lettuce (1 cup) and slicing a tomato(1). Lay out the provolone (2 ounces). Place the turkey(4 ounces) slices on top of the provolone. Finally, top the turkey slices with the roast beef (4 ounces). Set this package aside.
- Next, slice the loaf of bread down the middle, but make sure to leave a hinge on the bread. Don’t cut the loaf all the way through.
- Lay the French bread loaf open and spread Hellman’s Mayonnaise (4 tablespoons) on each side of the bread. Jimmy Johns scoops out some bread, but because this french bread is the star of the show we want all of it! Copycat recipe or not.
- Layer the sliced tomatoes (4 slices) on the bottom half of the sub and then lay shredded iceberg lettuce (¼ cup) on the top half of the bun.
- Lay the entire package of meat and cheese on top of the iceberg and tomatoes, covering both halves of the roll.Place your long knife down the middle of the sandwich and then close the sandwich firmly, gliding the knife out. Give the sub a squeeze to make sure its closed. Finally, cut the sub in half and share. Enjoy! Chips on the plate wouldn’t hurt.
Nutrition
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Have you tried this Jimmy Johns Bootlegger Copycat recipe or did you try this copycat Jimmy Johns bread recipe? You are welcome to leave 5-star ratings, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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