June is Pollinator Month, and I’m celebrating with this Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie – a rich and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bread infused with wildflower lavender tea. The tea provides a lovely floral undertone without overpowering the other flavors of the loaf.
This Bee Keeper’s Loaf is the featured bread for the Bread Baking Babes. Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, chose this bread for our enjoyment, and let me tell you, it is an enjoyable loaf.
The loaf is made with a 50/50 blend of white wheat flour and whole grain durum flour and baked in a Pullman pan to give it the characteristic square shape that Pain de Mie loaves are known for.
It is an easy bread that can be made in an afternoon; if you so choose. Tanna provided a couple of different options, depending on what size pan you have and whether you prefer to go with the straight dough method or utilize an overnight biga for added texture and flavor.
I wanted to use my 13×5-inch Pullman pan, and the overnight biga so I went with the suggested method for making two smaller 9×5-inch Pullman loaves instead of the method outlined on the KAF site.
I didn’t bother to recalculate the amount needed for one large Pullman loaf so I ended up with extra dough. No worries! I made a Pullman-size loaf and a smaller loaf. In the photo below, you can see the smaller loaf is dwarfed by the Pullman loaf, but the smaller slices make a very nice snack without overindulging in all of the rich and buttery goodness.
“This loaf is inspired by a recipe that King Arthur Flour head baker Martin Philip created for his bid for the 2016 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. Its mild, sweet honey flavor and soft and tender crumb yield slices that are ideally suited for grilled cheese — or any other sandwich, for that matter. ” Description from KAF site
To me, Pain de Mie is a wonderful toast bread in its own right, but when you infuse it with wildflower tea, it’s even more delightful!
Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie
Option #1
: Adapted from the Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie on the KAF site
Makes: one 13X5 pullman-size loaf and utilizes the straight dough method (meaning it doesn’t have an overnight preferment)
Ingredients: (Tanna’s adaptation)
- 200 grams white whole wheat flour
- 500 grams King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 25 grams wheat bran
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 227 grams (227g) lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup (113g) milk, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (64g) honey
- 7 tablespoons (99g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
I love the photo with the lavender flours over the bread! Stunning! Love your baby loaf too.
Thanks! But the baby loaf is all gone. Too much snacking… Oops!
Oh CopyCat, CopyCat I am going to be: 113 grams butter – ah just an exact stick, how clever and I can’t imagine I’ll miss the 10 extra grams AND ” the larger (13×5-inch) pullman-size loaf, you will need approximately 1150 grams of dough. You will have about 350 grams left over for a smaller loaf.” Thank you for that measurement. Perfect!
As always, you’ve got a perfectly gorgeous loaf!
Thank you Tanna! You’re too funny! I loved this bread!
Wonderful that you have a lovely, moist crumbed pullman and a cute smaller one for snacks. Love your photos, too.
Thanks! You can’t go wrong with this bread whether you make it in a pullman pan or other loaf pan.
What a big, beautiful loaf! That would keep my hubs in sandwiches for a few days….
Thanks Katie! It is rather big. I will probably freeze half of it for later.
What a beautiful photo with the flowers laid on top of that gorgeous loaf! It’s so long!!
I’m so envious of the number of Croque Monsieurs you can make.
Thanks Elizabeth! Ooh! Ham and cheese would be wonderful on this bread. I just might have to try that.
Beautiful loaf. I’m just discovering it is Pollinator month! 🙂
I didn’t expect the lavender and chamomile to lend such a nice, delicate flavour to the bread especially as I don’t like lavender.
I got a gardening email or something a few weeks ago that mentioned June being Pollinator month and I thought, “what a lovely idea for a post! I know just the bread.” I wasn’t sure how the tea and lavender would taste either, but I like it. It seems to get stronger each day…