Pullman Loaf, AKA Pain de Mie Bread

Overhead view of slices of pullman loaf bread on a cutting board.

Pullman Loaf, AKA Pain de Mie Bread

Pullman loaf, also called Pain de Mie, is a mild bread with a delicate flavor and velvety crumb. It is baked in a special bread pan so that it is perfectly squared off and has the thinnest crust possible. Great for French Toast.

Course Bread

Cuisine Amercian Heritage

Prep Time 2 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 2 55

Servings slices

Calories 132kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup water spring water is best
3 tablespoons sugar
⅔ cup milk whole milk
6 tablespoons butter unsalted, melted and cooled to room temp.
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder
3 tablespoons dehydrated mashed potato flakes run through the blender don't reconstitute them - add them dry.
4 ½ cups bread flour up to 5 cups

Instructions

Add the yeast and sugar to the water.
Set it aside for 10 minutes until it is bubbly and looks creamy.
Add the milk, melted butter, and 2 cups of flour and mix well.
Mix in the salt, dry milk powder, and mashed potato flakes.
Add more flour, a little at a time, until the dough is smooth and soft.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, grease the top of the dough, and cover with a tea towel.
Let rise for 2 hours, or until double in bulk - or overnight in the refrigerator.
Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie pan.
Gently press down the dough and shape it into a 13-inch log.
Fit it into the pan.
Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise unil it is just below the lip of the pan, about an hour but possibly more.
Remove the plastic.
Lightly grease the inside of the cover and slide it onto the pan.
Let the dough rise for an additional 10 minutes or so while the oven is preheating to 350F.
Bake the bread for 25 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and take off the cover.
Return the loaf to the oven and bake it for an additional 20 minutes, or until the bread tests done. An instant read thermometer, inserted into the center, will read 190F.
Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely, taking the loaves out of the pans after 10 minutes.

Notes

Storage:

Pullman loaves are best enjoyed within three or four days of baking. Just keep covered at room temperature.

However, you can also freeze the bread for up to three months. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap then in aluminum foil.

Tips:

Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise indicated.
If you have time make it the day before and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator for the first rise, before shaping.
If you don't have a pullman loaf pan you can spray any loaf pan really well with nonstick bake spray, then add about ½ the dough, spray nonstick spray on a sheet of aluminum foil and cover tightly , sealing it on the loaf pan. NOW wrap the loaf pan with a couple of layers of aluminum flour tightly. It's not perfect but it will work.
This bread freezes like a charm. I like to slice it and freeze it with parchment between the slices so I can use just what I need.
Let it cool completely before cutting. You can cut this paper thin for fancy things and thick for things like Texas toast. It's super versatile.
You can make whole wheat pain de mie by substituting whole wheat flour for up to half the bread flour.

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