A Pullman Loaf (Pain de Mie) is made in a straight-sided Pullman pan for a uniform square slice. This Pullman Loaf recipe is perfect for sandwiches and French toast and it’s been lovingly called Minecraft bread at my house!
- What Is A Pullman Pan?
- How To Use A Covered Pullman Pan
- Why Are There Holes In The Bottom Of The Pan?
- Recipe
Ingredients
I’ve used standard bread making ingredients for this recipe. The bread isn’t different. It’s the shape of the bread that is the fun part. So, if you have these ingredients available, you can make this bread.
- Bread Flour
- Milk Powder
- Granulated Sugar
- Butter
- Yeast
- Salt
The butter can be salted or unsalted. If using salted butter, simply omit the extra salt. But, make sure it’s room temperature so it can be mixed easier.
What Is A Pullman Pan?
For this recipe, I used a loaf pan but unlike regular bread pans, it has completely straight sides. The Pullman pan I used measures about 8 ½″ long, 4 ¾″ wide and 4 ½″ tall. The exact Pullman pan I’ve used is available at Amazon (aff link).
How To Use A Covered Pullman Pan
I experimented several times, with several different ingredient amounts in order to get the perfect square loaf. Let me give you the tips I developed in order to make this work perfectly.
Mix The Dough
Mix the dough in your preferred method. I really like using my bread machine to mix dough. It’s a super easy, hands-off way of doing this. After about 1 ½ hours, you have everything ready for shaping.
Shape the Dough
Make 4 equal pieces of dough. Flatten out for about 4-5″ by 7-8″ long. Starting at a short side, begin rolling but roll very tightly. Sort of press and roll. If you just roll it up, you’ll have big air pockets. Take your time. I promise, you’ll get there.
After you’ve sprayed your pan with oil or Pam, place each roll widthwise in the pan. This doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect. As you can see from the photo, one of my pieces was a little bigger than the others. Completely fine.
Let It Rise
Cover with a dry cloth and let rise about 20-40 minutes, depending on your heat and humidity. The rise should be until about 1″ from the top.
Spray the underside of the lid and then slide it on the top. Bake as indicated. Be careful when you put it in the oven because the lid will slide very easily.
Why Is The Dough Separated Into Pieces?
You’ve seen baked bread before. It has a round top and is lower around the sides and edges. By separating the dough into pieces, it’s like having four individual bread loaves and each one is forcing the rise in the specific direction you want for this perfectly shaped bread.
I had one loaf that escaped the pan a little in one corner. It was just fine. I cut it off before opening the Pullman cover and you couldn’t even tell it was there.
If you decide you don’t want the perfectly square shape, you can still use the pan without the lid. It will rise and bake with a rounder top.
Why Are There Holes In The Bottom Of The Pan?
My Pullman has three holes in the bottom. This is meant to allow steam to escape so your loaf doesn’t get soggy and could also help get the bread out of the pan if it gets stuck, by pushing through.
Even with those steam vents, I still remove the pan as soon as I’m able because moving it to a rack works great to avoid soggy bread.
Behind The Scenes
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More Bread Recipes
Try my other 24Bite Bread Recipes. You can follow the same concept as the bread explained here and make perfectly square slices no matter which bread recipe is your favorite.
Recipe
Using a Pullman Pan for A Perfect Loaf
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For more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Equipment
- Bread Machine, if using Bread Machine instructions (Cuisinart Bread Maker 2 Pound used)
- Standing Mixer with dough attachment, if using Standing Mixer instructions
- Pullman pan with cover, about 8 ½″ long, 4 ¾″ wide and 4 ½″ tall
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup Water, warm, 105-115°, to activate yeast
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Yeast, equal to one standard packet
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Butter, Salted or unsalted, softened, chopped into 6 small pieces
- 570 grams Bread Flour, (about 4 ¾ cups spoon and fill) *see note
- 3 tablespoons Milk Powder, instant dry milk powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt, optional, only with unsalted butter
- Vegetable oil, optional, if making by hand or mixer
- Cooking Spray, like Pam, or use a brush to put oil in the pan
Instructions
- Proof the yeast: In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, stir together water, yeast and sugar until mixed well. Set aside.
- After 10-15 minutes, check the yeast to see that it has a nice foam layer to ensure the yeast is viable. If there is no foam layer, check your yeast. It may be expired and you'll need to try again.
- Add yeast mixture to bread pan in bread machine. Add flour and milk powder to bread pan. Add salt (optional, if using unsalted butter) to bread pan. You always want to put the salt far away from the yeast. Now, put the pieces of butter evenly on top. ( Check the notes below for instructions on making the dough without a bread machine.)
- Set bread machine to dough only. Place a small amount of flour on your work surface. With a pastry cutter or dull knife, cut the ball of dough into four pieces. Flatten each piece to about 4-5″ by 7-8″ long. Starting at a short side, begin rolling but roll very tightly. Sort of press and roll. If you just roll it up, you’ll have big air pockets. Take your time. I promise, you’ll get there.
- Spray the inside of the Pullman pan and place each piece of rolled dough widthwise in the pan. Cover with a dry cloth and let rise about 20-40 minutes, depending on your heat and humidity. The rise should be until about 1″ from the top.
- About 20 minutes into the rise, preheat oven to 375℉. Spray the underside of the lid and then slide it on the top once the dough is 1" from the top of the pan. Be careful when you put it in the oven because the lid will slide very easily. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. It should sound hollow when tapped on the top. You can slide the lid off a little and check. If the bread isn't as golden as you like, you can remove the lid and continue baking 5-10 minutes, or as necessary.
- Remove from pan to a metal rack after 10 minutes or, when you are comfortably able to remove it. This will keep it from getting soggy. If desired, brush top lightly with melted butter once outside the pan.
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Important: Whenever possible, use a scale for measuring dry ingredients, like flour. This is the more accurate measurement. The scoop and level method of measuring is not accurate because you don’t know how packed your flour has become. If you don’t have a scale, stir the flour lightly then use the spoon and fill method instead.
Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
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Christian Guzman says
I hope you enjoy this new, fun recipe! Please let me know if you have any questions.