In honor of Mardi Gras, we’re making shrimp Po’boys, WITH homemade French bread. French bread is the perfect bread for Po’boy’s, sandwiches or garlic bread. Slightly crispy on the outside. Soft and fluffy on the inside. So good and easy to make. Once you make this, you’ll never go back to buying store bought bread.
Good bread is my weakness. Nice, warm & fluffy, melt in your mouth bread! OMG. With some garlic butter, whew!. Po’boy’s are one of my favorite things to eat when I go to New Orleans. Buttery French bread, crispy shrimp. Fully dressed. Drowned with hot sauce, spicy remoulade and ketchup! Ahhhh so so good.
What you’ll need
Flour- I used AP flour. Feel free to use bread flour if you have it. Using bread flour yield a chewier result. But I had none left. I plan on using it the next time I make this recipe.
Sugar- granulated sugar adds a touch of sweetness. It also gives the yeast food to bloom.
Yeast- I used active dry yeast.
Water- warm water. Make sure it’s not too hot and not too cold.
Salt- I used pink Himalayan sea salt
Olive Oil- this helps keep the bread
Melted Butter- optional but I wanted to add it in their to give the bread a buttery softness
Cornmeal- optional, but great for adding texture to the roll.
For the Po’boy
Shrimp– seasoned, battered and fried to perfection.
Lettuce– thinly sliced lettuce.
Tomato- I used Roma tomatoes and seasoned them with salt and Italian seasoning.
Pickles- I left these off, but traditionally a fully dressed o’boy includes pickles.
Remoulade- combination of mayo, hot sauce, ketchup, whatever other seasonings you like.
Hot sauce- your favorite brand of hot sauce.
Ketchup– optional but I like to put this on my shrimp or catfish Po’boys.
Shrimp Po’boy + Homemade French Bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter melted, unsalted + more for brushing
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp salt
- cornmeal optional
For the Po'boy
- 1-2 cups canola oil for frying
- 1/2 lbs Shrimp
- lettuce
- tomato
- pickles
- hot sauce
- ketchup
Dry Batter
- 1 cup flour
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1 tbsp Tony's Creole seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp All Purpose seasoning
- salt + pepper
Wet batter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- hot sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp All purpose seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt
Remoulade Sauce
- 1/4 cup Mayo
- 1/2 tsp creole mustard
- 1 tbsp Ketchup optional
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- Hot sauce
- Tony's Creole seasoning
- Italian seasoning
- Smoked paprika
- Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Cover with a damp towel and allow to bloom for 10 minutes.
- Add in flour, olive oil, melted butter and salt. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough beginning on a low setting first, then slowly increase to medium as the flour incorporates for about 5 minutes. The dough should no longer stick to the sides of the bowl once kneaded well. If the dough is too sticky add in 1-2 tbsp at a time.
- Once a rough dough forms, form it into a ball and place it into a well oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hr or so. depends on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Once it doubles in size, punch down the dough and transfer it to a well-floured surface. Divide in half, slightly flatten into a thick rectangle. Roll the dough, and form it into 2 loaves. Pinch the edges to seal then tuck the ends. Place in a loaf pan or on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- With a sharp knife or razor blade, score the bread with multiple slashes at an angle on the top of each loaf. Cover the loaves with a towel and allow to rise for at least 30 minutes-45 minutes or until it noticeably puffs up.
- Preheat oven to 375. Add a baking pan to the bottom rack. Brush the loaves with egg wash, and sprinkle cornmeal on top if desired. Place loaf into the oven + pour water into the pre-heated baking pan that's sitting on the lower rack This will produce steam in the oven.
- Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes or until golden. (You may need to rotate the bread if one side is browning quicker than the other)
- If desired, immediately brush melted butter over top of the loaves. This will slightly soften the rolls. If you prefer a crispier loaf, don't brush with butter.
For shrimp
- In a bowl, combine shrimp, mustard, hot sauce, and 1 egg yolk. Season with garlic powder, All purpose seasoning, smoked paprika and salt. Mix and set aside.
- In another bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, All purpose seasoning, Tony's, smoked paprika and salt and pepper.
- Dredge the shrimp in the dry batter and fry in 350 degree oil until golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a wired rack or paper towel.
For remoulade
- Combine mayo, ketchup, lemon juice, hot sauce, garlic paste, Italian seasoning, Tony's, smoked paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Measure/season according to taste.
Assemble Po'boy
- Cut the French loaf in half, spread butter on the inside and toast in a medium skillet until golden brown. Spread remoulade, lettuce, tomato, shrimp, hot sauce, more remoulade and ketchup. Serve with cajun fries and enjoy!