2 Slices Bread – You can use homemade sandwich bread, ciabatta bread, French bread, rolls, etc.
1 Tablespoon Butter (melted)
2 Slices Pepperjack Cheese – You can also use soft sliced cheeses such as provolone, American cheese, etc. Use your family’s favorite soft sliced cheese.
3 Slices Ham (thinly sliced cold cuts)
1 Slice Medium Tomato – Tomato slice should be roughly 1/8-1/4 inch in thickness. Of course, you can exclude the tomato if you dislike tomatoes.
2 Sweet Basil Leaves Optional Ingredient – Use more leaves if you love basil or the basil leaves are tiny. Exclude this ingredient if you hate basil.
Instructions
Preheat your panini press. Set the temperature to 325 F (or to medium heat if you can not set the temperature on your panini press) and turn on the panini grill.
Melt the butter in your microwave.
Brush the exterior of each slice with a thin layer of melted butter. FYI – I use a pastry brush to “brush” on the melted butter.
Optional – Consider brushing the interior of each slice with melted butter. FYI – This helps to better transfer the heat to the interior ingredients but it does add more calories.
Place both halves of the bread on a plate or cutting board. FYI – Do not place the ingredients on the panini grill until your panini has been fully assembled.
Place a cheese slice on top of the bottom half of the bread.
Place the ham slices on top of the cheese slice.
Optional – Place basil leaves on top of the ham.
Place the tomato slice on top of the ham (and optional basil leaves).
Place the final cheese slice on top of the tomato.
Finally, place the top slice of bread on the cheese (to complete the structure of the panini sandwich).
Use two wide non-scratch spatulas to scoop up the panini and transfer the assembled panini to the hot panini press. Wear oven gloves. FYI – I like to use one spatula on the bottom of the panini and one on top in order to hold the panini together when moving the panini to the press/grill.
Gently lower the panini press/grill lid on top of the panini.
Grill for about 3-4 minutes. FYI – You can check every couple of minutes to see if the panini has finished (as panini press temperatures can vary by machine) and to avoid over-grilling & burning the panini. You might have to grill longer if you use “medium” heat versus 325 F (as the temperature range can vary by machine). Grilling time length varies due to the type of bread used.
Turn off the grill. FYI – Be careful as panini grills can stay hot for a long time.
Use the two spatulas to remove the finished panini from the panini press. Wear oven gloves.
Since the panini is very hot, you should place the panini on a wire cooling and let it cool for 1-2 minutes. FYI – A wire cooling rack helps to prevent a soggy bottom (versus allowing the panini to cool on a plate). The cooling rack lets moisture out versus being trapped by a plate.
Serve the panini while it is still warm. Cut the panini in half if desired.
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