Pullman loaf sandwich bread ( Pan de mie )


At last a respectable pullman bread !

From the Bread Bible by Rose Beranbaum , " The pan de mie is the basic white sandwich bread of France . This bread has a minimum of crust , the result of baking the loaf in a special straight-sided covered pan ( pullman pan ) . The cover prevents a full rise , producing the tight fine crumb and minimum of crust . "

This is my 3rd try so far ....

If you've already tried Rose Levy Beranbaum's pullman loaf sandwich bread , you would agree that it's one delicious loaf bread .....

My 2 previous bakes which I made half of the recipe and it looks good enough but it barely hit 2/3 of the pan and the top was little bit scorched and uneven ! 

So this time , I made the full recipe , crammed 850 grams of dough in my 8 x 4-inch pullman pan , didn't open the cover after 30 minutes as stated in the book and left the small loaf pan ( with 270 grams of dough )  uncovered at the start of baking and just covered it after 20 minutes .

I think I'm happy with how it turned out ......


Though I've only had a 7 1/2  x 3 1/4-inch and a malnourished ( uneven top , as well ! ) 5 x 1 1/2-inch result . The combined weight of my bread is 980 grams .The  recipe should filled up a 16 x 4 x 4-inch pullman pan ! pfffttttt 

But don't smirk at that malnourished loaf ! It may defy description but it's taste really great with it's crunchy crust ( it will turn soft after a day ) and soft crumbs .....

As for the one baked in the pullman pan , I'll let the photos speaks for itself ! lol

I'll still need to knead trillions of bread dough to have that toned arms ! ^____^''


Recipe from The Bread Bible 

You'll need a pullman loaf , 16 x 4 x 4-inch to make a 15 x 4 x 3 1/4-inch-high loaf ( about 1015 grams )

4 cups / 20.5 oz / 585 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (use only Gold Medal , King Arthur or Pillsbury) - Just use any all-purpose flour you have in hand ! -
1/4 cup / 1.5 oz / 40 grams dry whole milk
1 tablespoon / 9.6 instant dry yeast
6 tablespoon / 3 oz / 85 grams unsalted butter , softened  
1 1/2 liquid cups / 12.5 oz / 354 grams water at room temperature ( 70° to 90°F )
2 tablespoon / 1.5 oz / 40 grams honey 
2 teaspoons / 1/3.2 grams salt

* Mix the dough :

Mixer method : In a large mixer bowl , , whisk together the flour , dry milk , and yeast . Add butter and mix the with the dough hook on low speed ( #2 if using a KA ) , then add the water , honey and salt . When all the flour is moistened , raise the speed to medium ( #4 KA ) and beat for 7 minutes . The dough will be smooth , shiny and slightly sticky to the touch . If the dough is not stiff , knead in a little flour . If it is not at all sticky , spray it with a little water and knead it in . ( It will weigh about , 38.5 oz / 1102 grams )

Hand method : In a large bowl , whisk together all but 1/4 cup of the flour , the dry milk and yeast . Add the butter , with a wooden spoon or your hand , stir in the water , honey and salt until the flour is moistened . Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together , then scrape it onto a lightly floured surface . Knead for 5 minutes , enough to develop the gluten structure a little , adding the reserved flour as little as possible to keep the dough from sticking . Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead . At this point it will be very sticky . over it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes . ( This resting time will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with )
         Knead the dough for another 5 minutes or until it is very smooth and elastic . It should still be tacky ( sticky ) enough to cling to your fingers . If the dough is still very sticky , add some of the remaining reserved flour or a little extra .  ( It will weigh about 1102 grams ) Mine was 1120 grams .



Both methods : Shape the dough and let it rise . On a lightly floured counter , shape the dough into a ball . Flour the top and cover it with plastic wrap . Allow it to relax for 10-15 minutes . Remove the plastic wrap and gently deflate the dough , using your fingertips to spread it into a rectangle about 10 x 8-inch .

        Give the dough one business-letter turn , then press or roll it out again to about 12 inches by 5 inches and shape it into a 16-inch-long loaf . Set it in the prepared pan . Grease the top of the pullman pan and slide it into place , leaving a few inches ajar so that you can gauge the progress of the rising dough . Cover the exposed area with a plastic wrap . Let rise in a warm area and allow it to rise until it is about 1/2 inch below the top of the pan , about 1- 1 1/2 hour .  

* Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C for 30 minutes before baking . Bake the bread for 30 minutes  . Quickly slide off the lid , turn the pan around , for even baking and continue baking for about 30 minutes until deeply brown . If bread starts getting to dark after 20 minutes , tent it loosely with foil .

* Remove the bread and unmold it onto a large wire rack . Cool it top side up .

Small loaf , baked without cover 

Pullman pan 

Comments

  1. Well done Anne:-) It's my first time to read and learn about Pullman pan...I'm impressed...very impressed:-)

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    1. Annie , try making this bread and winter's a good time to knead dough since the kitchen will be cooler ! lol No need to use this pan as any pan will do anyway :D

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  2. Hi Anne, yuuhhuuu... spread 2 pieces for me with butter and strawberry jam or whatever jam that's available..... I'm coming over. Got coffee? LOL

    Nice looking bread, so soft and fluffy. I had one of this bread pan but used once only. LOL

    Have a nice week ahead.

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    1. Amelia , come on over ! I have loads of jam here ! lol I told myself not to buy another loaf pan since I already have 3 1/2 loaf pans but I can't resist a good bargain ! :D

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  3. It looks beautiful, love the fluffy texture.

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  4. Anne, I love your sandwich bread and I must get that loaf pan too. BTW is dry milk - milk powder?

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    1. Ann , yup ! That's milk powder ! Last time , I went to buy milk powder at the baking shop and kept looking where the heck they put their milk powder .... so I asked the nice shop assistant about it and she pointed out the product labeled "whey" ! I told myself , " Oh , curds and whey ! , I've forgotten the Little Miss Muffet ! lol

      My pullman's not that straight-sided , btw , the bottom is 3 1/2-inch and the top is 4 inches :P :D Good thing it's cheap ! hee hee

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  5. Oooh... I wanted to make a Pullman Bread last week, my size-pan and the recipe does not match! Even if I halve the recipe, it would be too little, in the end (i'm hopeless with maths!), i just put it aside and consider gettting one more pullman pan to fit the recipe!! And my pullman pan does not have the three holes at the base like yours!
    I got to make this soon, I have two jars of homemade plum jam that is calling for Pullman Bread! LOL!!
    Your bread looks perfect, so soft and nice! A wonderful recipe from Rose! Perfect bake!

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    1. Joyce , there's no problem with a pullman pan without holes ! Actually , during my second attempt , I had to cover the bottom of my pullman pan with foil as I thought maybe that was the reason why my first attempt didn't fill up the whole pan !

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  6. that would be my breakfast before i go to work

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  7. Oh my God! This looks so professional!
    Do I see three holes in the pan? Gluten free bread does not rise much so I should get this pan.

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  8. Whoa, I think you finally mastered this one! That crumb looks amazing! And I'd have no trouble gobbling up the only slightly less that perfect junior loaf :)

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  9. It looks perfect, Anne! The photos tell me that you should really be happy with how your loaf bread turned out!

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  10. A perfect pullman loaf. The crumb looks great.

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  11. anne, this is a perfect square loaf!! i must tell you that very rare that i can get a perfect squarish loaf like this! i never done weight calculations tho LOL! well done!!

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    1. Lena , I just weighed it so that I'll know if hand kneaded dough will weigh the same as the one when using a stand mixer :D

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  12. Love the perfectly shaped loaf that you have there! I would love to try making a nice sandwich loaf like this one day when I find a pan that fits my little oven :)

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  13. you remind me i have this covered pullman tin bought few months ago but have yet to try any loaf..Thanks for the inspiration!

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