100% Whole Wheat pain de mie

By prairiemama

Photo:King Arthur Flour

The best bread for thin-slicing is called pain de mie, a butter- and milk-rich loaf baked in a special lidded pan (often called a Pullman pan, just to make things confusing!) The lid ensures that the baking bread won't expand too much, keeping it very close-grained-and thus totally non-crumbly, and easy to slice

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup dry milk
• 1 cup potato flakes
• 5 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon vital wheat gluten

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 90mins
Cooking time 125mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. 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.
2. Lightly grease a standard (13" x 4" x 4") lidded pain
de mie (pullman) 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"
below the lip of the pan, about 45 minutes.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of
the pan onto a rack to cool completely.
6. For a soft, flavorful crust, brush the loaf with melted
butter while warm.
Yield: 1 loaf.