Pullman Bread gets its name from it’s former use on the long distance Pullman trains in the United States. This version is made with a portion of whole grain flour, sifted once to remove the bran.
In France, however, it is referred to as pain de mie, or “bread of crumb,” because it has very little crust. It is usually baked in a rectangular straight-sided pullman pan which gives it a firm crust and a delicious crumb. It makes excellent toast!
Most of the Pullman Breads that I’ve seen are made with all white bread flour and are similar to the Simple Milk Loaf I made recently. However, I have seen a few versions that include a portion of whole wheat flour in addition to the white bread flour.
I had just made an all white sandwich bread, so I wanted something different. This Light Wheat Pullman Bread includes white bread flour along with about 35% clear flour.
Clear flour is flour that clears the first sifting (to separate out the bran and germ). It still retains some of the finer bran fiber from the outer endosperm of the wheat berry and is thus coarser and contains higher levels of ash. It is usually made from very strong, high-protein wheat.
I used whole wheat flour home-milled from hard red spring wheat for this bread. Hard red spring wheat has a higher level of protein than hard red winter wheat due to the shorter growing season.
After sifting out the bran, use the remaining flour in the recipe and store the bran in the freezer to use in another recipe or sprinkle it on the outside of a crusty artisan loaf.
You might enjoy these other Pain de Mie Pullman Breads:
- Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie – a rich and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bread infused with wildflower lavender tea
- KAMUT Pain de Mie – very mild and wheaty flavor with a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth crumb that’s great for toasting
- English Toast Bread with Teff – using a small amount of teff combined with bread flour produces a delicious light-textured bread with a creamy, earthy color
- Light Wheat Sourdough Pain de Mie – a tender and buttery sandwich bread that can be made with up to 30% whole grain and still retain its fluffy texture
The mother of all sliced bread! That Pullman baking pan is really cool! Definitely going to try this out!
Oh I’ve been wanting to do a pullman bread for so long. I think I’ll just have to take the pan off my wish list and get it myself. I love happy dough and yours looks happy, beautiful AND forgiving. Score one for the bread baker!
I think you should get a pullman pan for yourself. I did and I’m so glad. I loved this bread.
Your pullman bread looks beautiful!! It’s always kind of an adventure when you get a new toy in the kitchen. I’m glad the final loaf worked out so well after the little accident. I’m thinking of getting a pullman pan so I can try it for the February assigment.
Beautiful! I just told BF that I want a Pullman pan!!
I love this pan so I think you both should get one! I can’t believe I waited this long to try it.