Pain De Mie – Pullman Loaf

Sandwich bread can be thought of in many forms and sizes. As children many of us remember the simple white bread loaf with the square or rectangular sides instead of the rising top. I have made bread for years but had never made sandwich bread in this shape.

In past months I came across a recipe for Pain De Mie and realized this was the bread of my youth. It was now time to make the bread that had been spread with layers of peanut butter and grape jelly. Having found a recipe it was necessary to purchase the required equipment. A Pullman pan is needed to get the square loaf to form. The lidded pan keep the top of the loaf from forming a crown. These are available from Amazon and other suppliers. The USA pullman product is of excellent quality. We highly recommend it and recently Cooks Illustrated also gave it its highest rating.

The recipe I selected for our first bread was from the King Arthur Flour website although there were many others available. The bread had good flavor and perfect texture. It was much less spongy than store bought bread and made for excellent sandwiches and toast. We will use this recipe again when we want a solid white sandwich bread.

Recipe

2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) milk
1 cup (8 ounces) water
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup (1 1/8 ounces) Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour
4 3/4 cups (20 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Combine the ingredients as above, using a flat beater paddle or beaters, then switch to the dough hook(s) and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover allowing the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shaping it into a 13-inch log, and then fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it’s just below the lip of the pan, about an 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Remove the plastic, and carefully place the cover on the pan, letting it rest an additional 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done (register 190°F). Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Source: King Arthur Flour