After the lawsuit, they changed it to "approximately 12 inches" lol. The dough for the bread is actually cut to 12 inches, but as it rises it shrinks a little bit.
The dough is not cut to 12 inches.
It comes in big boxes of frozen breadstick shaped dough, definitely much smaller than 12 inches. Then it is allowed to thaw, then proof in the steam - this is where it gets large and voluminous, then it bakes in the 12 inch "loaf" shaped silicone forms and then allowed to cool. If you proof it too long it exceeds the size, if you don't proof it long enough it is smaller all around.
Additionally the "party" subs are three of these frozen breadsticks of dough allowed to thaw then braided and put in the larger silicone forms for proofing and baking then with double meat and double cheese.
No Subway employee cuts dough to size because it's already measured out.
I knew it was pre-packaged, worded that part ambiguously I guess. I didn't know they bloomed it in the restaurant shop, altitude and temperature can easily mess with it both during blooming and also in the oven then (I figured they'd do those things from larger hubs to achieve more consistency). I figured they were shipped as loafs to the store and just defrosted there. I guess that does save a lot of space doing the blooming in house though.
I worked there, a long time ago for about a year back before I realized that if I didn't like a job I could quit and not "be a failure". The boxes come full of the frozen dough because it was much better space-wise and if any broke in transit they could thaw back into a whole.
It comes in big boxes of frozen breadstick shaped dough, definitely much smaller than 12 inches. Then it is allowed to thaw, then proof in the steam - this is where it gets large and voluminous, then it bakes in the 12 inch "loaf" shaped silicone forms and then allowed to cool. If you proof it too long it exceeds the size, if you don't proof it long enough it is smaller all around.
Additionally the "party" subs are three of these frozen breadsticks of dough allowed to thaw then braided and put in the larger silicone forms for proofing and baking then with double meat and double cheese.
No Subway employee cuts dough to size because it's already measured out.