How to build a crowd-pleasing party sub for the Super Bowl

This might sound obvious, but you can’t build a three-foot party sub without first obtaining a three-foot party sub roll. And because you probably can’t find 36-inch loaves on the shelf at your neighborhood supermarket, get on the phone with one of these outlets at least 48 hours before your appointed sandwichmaking hour arrives:

A. Litteri, $25 for a plain three-foot sub loaf. 517 Morse St. NE. 202-544-0183. alitteri.com .

Catania Bakery, $15 for a plain three-foot sub loaf. 1404 North Capitol St. NW. 202-332-5135.
cataniabakery.com .

The Italian Store, $30 for a plain three-foot sub loaf. 3123 Lee Hwy., Arlington, 703-528-6266; 5837 Washington Blvd., Arlington, 571-341-1080. italianstore. com .

Bread & Water sells large chunks of Marko’s Big Bread, owner Marko Panas’s blend of sourdough and baguette dough. Each chunk of the long, crusty loaf is $12, and a three-foot length would cost about $36. 1512 Belle View Blvd., Alexandria. 703-768-0100. breadandwatercompany. com .

Inside the battle to build the best Super Bowl party sub

Other tips:

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• When slicing open the sub bread, use a long serrated knife. If you want to keep a hinge to serve as a pocket for your fillings, don’t cut much more than halfway in from the edge, and spread the top and bottom apart very slowly and carefully.

• It’s a lot of bread to fill: Three feet is far more daunting when it’s sliced open before you than it sounds on paper. (And best of luck if you’re planning to build a six-footer.) You’re going to need more of everything than you think.

• A good rule of thumb to start with is slightly more than a pound of meat — or whatever principal ingredient you’re using — per foot of bread. If you wind up with too much of something, freeze it and reuse it on smaller subs, or just eat it with your hands. There are worse problems.

• Similarly, when it comes to the amount of condiments and spreadable toppings, go crazy: That amount of bread will soak up a “sensible” amount of spread as if it weren’t even there. Pretend you’re painting a very small house, and you’ll begin to appreciate the scope of the task at hand.

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• If you’re really planning to load up your sandwich — and you’d better be if you’re going to this much effort — you’ll need to remove some of the bread’s interior crumb from at least the top half of the sub. Otherwise, there’s just too much bread relative to the fillings and sauces. If you’re eyeballing it, a 50-50 ratio of bread to your principal filling would be ideal.

• Before you begin to assemble the sub, you should ideally be in your final serving location. That’s not to say you can’t travel with a fully loaded three-foot sub made elsewhere (most sub bread comes in a sturdy box), but it’s best to build where the sandwich will be consumed. Wherever you’re preparing the sandwich, however, a long plank or board is an ideal construction surface.

• A three-foot sub should yield twenty-four 1½-inch sandwich slices. Cut it any narrower, and the portions become difficult to handle; any wider and your guests are bound to struggle. Use the sharpest knife you have, and cut firmly. Leftover slices can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

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