Sourdough Saturday… “Pain de Mie”

 This Sourdough Saturday really isn’t a sourdough bread. Today we made “Pain de Mie” or better known in America as “Pullman Bread”. 

This is the last French bread recipe in our cookbook and I love the how easy everything this was to make…💝  This is an enriched dough of milk, sugar and butter that becomes well-developed as the fat and sugar works together. 

Traditionally this bread is baked in a special square pan with a lid on top known s. “Pullman Loaf Pan”, so that it comes out totally square, perfect for sandwiches and Croque Monsieur. 

The recipe makes two loaves, the first loaf is fresh Basil & Asiago Cheese and the second loaf is just plain. 

Recipe:

 1/4 cup warm milk

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar 

1 package instant yeast— 1 1/2 Tablespoons if measuring from tin

1 1/2 cups whole milk 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

5 cups (19 ounces/544 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup warm milk , sugar, and yeast. Let rest until bubbly, about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine the milk and butter. Heat until hot to the touch and the butter has melted, about 1 1/2 minutes. (you can use microwave or a small saucepan over low heat, being careful not to let the milk boil). 

When the yeast has begun to foam, add the flour and salt to the bowl. Pour in the milk and butter mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. 

 Knead the dough on until soft, smooth, and elastic, but moving cleanly off the sides of the bowl, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 10 to 15 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Lightly grease a 13-by-4-inch Pullman pan and its lid with oil or nonstick cooking spray. Next, shape the loaf: Flour a work surface generously, place dough on work surface shaping the dough into a rectangle as you do so, approximately 10 inches by 7 inches in size. With the short end closest to you, fold the longer left side into the center of the rectangle, pressing the seam tightly. Repeat with the longer right side. Repeat this folding into the center with the two short sides. Rotate the dough 90° so one longer side is now closest to you. Fold and press the longer sides into the center once more. Flip the dough over—you should now have a nice smooth surface for the top of the loaf. Gently and evenly roll the dough back and forth to form a 13-inch log. Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan. 

Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest for a second time until it reaches just about 1 inch from the lip of the pan, no higher, 45 minutes to an hour. Position a rack to the center of the oven, and preheat it to 400°F. Slide the cover onto the pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 20 minutes more, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 190°F. Turn the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.