Pullman Loaf Pain De Mie Recipes

Steps:

• Starter: Also called pre-ferment, pâte fermentée (a mature pre-ferment, as in this starter), or poolish (which contains commercial yeast, as in this starter), this is the leavening or rising component of the bread baking process. Turn on a digital scale and weigh your empty container. Deduct the weight of the container by pressing the "tare" function, which resets the scale to zero. Add milk to the container, and tare to zero again. Then, continuing to weigh the ingredients, add salt, pinch of yeast, sugar, and flour. Use a chopstick to stir the starter until the dry and wet ingredients are just mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, 6-8 hours.
• Dough: Stir flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside. Pour milk into the pre-ferment to loosen it. Whisk 2 eggs in a large bowl; then stir in the pre-ferment/milk mixture. Use a rubber spatula to break up the pre-ferment into the liquid. Add the flour mixture and the butter, and continue mixing until most of the dry ingredients have been combined with the starter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, and starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly stir to the edges until most of the flour has been mixed in and hydrated.
• Roll and Tuck: A technique to develop gluten in the dough so it becomes firmer and easier to work with. This is done one time, followed by a resting period. Combine 1 part fine semolina with 5 parts unbleached white flour to make dusting flour, and lightly dust a clean work surface. Using a plastic bowl scraper, push the dough and residual flour out of the bowl onto the work surface. Use the scraper to stretch and gently shape the dough into a rough rectangle (dough will still be sticky). Then, starting at one end, roll and tuck the dough like a tube, about 3-4 times. Flip the dough so it's seam-side up and flatten again to a rectangle in the opposite direction, so the seam stretches from left to right. Repeat rolling and tucking, always returning to a seam-up position. Continue until the dough feels stronger and begins to resist any further rolling, about 10 times. All of the flour will get absorbed into the dough during this process. Shape into a ball and place into a bowl coated with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 45 minutes.
• Stretch and Fold: This technique strengthens the dough by folding it over onto itself. This process is repeated 3 times, with a resting period after each stretch and fold. Lightly dust the work surface and your hands with dusting flour. Using the scraper, release the dough from the bowl and place it seam-side down on the work surface. Gently shape into a rectangle, then fold the dough into thirds, like a letter. Pat it down slightly, then repeat the same fold in the other direction. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 45 minutes. For the second stretch and fold, repeat the steps for the first stretch and fold, but this time stretch the dough by flipping back and forth (like pizza dough). Gently reshape it into a rough rectangular shape before folding. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature, 45 minutes. For the third and final stretch and fold, repeat the steps for the second stretch and fold, cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature, 45 minutes.
• Shaping/Fermentation (Proofing): Shape the dough to prepare it for baking, then ferment (proof) it for a period of time to expand the dough and develop flavor. Spray the bottom and sides of a pullman loaf pan with nonstick spray. Lightly dust the work surface and your hands with dusting flour. Press the dough down slightly to de-gas it, then stretch into a 16-inch square (or to whatever length of the pan you're using). Roll the square into a tube. Place the tube seam side down into the prepared pan. Gently tap the dough down with your fist to even it out in the pan, then cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until the dough rises about 1½ -inches above the surface of the pan, 1½-3 hours.
• Baking: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (preferably convection). Test dough for baking by gently pressing; it should bounce back, leaving a slight dimple. Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg with a pinch of salt; add about 1 tablespoon of milk to thin it out. Spray the outer edges of the pan with nonstick spray and use a pastry brush to gently brush egg wash across the top of the dough, twice. (The spray will ensure the egg wash doesn't seep into the corners of the pan.) Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 385 degrees F. Rotate the pan and bake an additional 12-15 minutes. Test for doneness by removing from oven and giving it a thump on top; it should sound hollow. Tap the pan on the counter to release the loaf; turn it over and carefully remove the bread from the pan. Return the loaf to the oven on its side, and bake directly on the rack to solidify the shape, 5 minutes.
• Cooling, Slicing, and Storing: Transfer bread to a cooling rack (and notice the caramel aroma!). Cool completely before slicing and eating, at least 2 hours. Store loosely in plastic for 7 days.

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them-by hand, mixer, or bread machine-to form a smooth, supple dough.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Lightly grease a standard (13 x 4 x 4-inch) lidded pain de mie pan.
• Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a log, and fit it into the pan. Flatten the top as much as possible. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it's about 1/2-inch below the lip of the pan, about 45 minutes.
• Carefully slip the cover onto the pan, and let it rest an additional 15 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 10 to 15 minutes, until it's golden-brown on top and tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F
• Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. For a soft, flavorful crust, brush the loaf with melted butter while warm. Yield: 1 loaf.

Steps:

• Weigh out flour and remove about a cup from the flour.
• Mix the milk with the hot water (should be around 95F) then mix in the dry yeast and sugar into the milk and add to the flour.
• Mix everything with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes.
• Add softened butter in chunks and beat this into the mix (yes this is extremely hard work but you'll love the bread!) then add the reserved flour and salt and mix together. Try to beat/mix this extremely soft dough for 2-3 minutes until very elastic.
• Heavily butter another bowl and scoop the soft dough into the bowl and cover in plastic wrap.
• Place in oven at 45C(85F) for 2 hours to rise. Heavily butter an 8inch by 4 inch loaf pan and the bottom of a heavy baking sheet. When batter/dough has risen, smush down and fold with a spoon gently then scrap into an 8inchx4inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap or dry kitchen tea towel and let rise until it's just below the top of the pan NOT ABOVE THE LOAF PAN EDGE! Place buttered-bottom baking sheet on top of loaf pan and place brick/rock/heavy weight on top. Place carefully into 425F/210C oven for 20 minutes then remove weight and continue baking for 20 minutes longer or until the bread sounds hollow when thumped on the base (remove from oven, invert from pan, and thump). When done, remove from pan and let cool on rack.