~How to Bake a Pullman Loaf in a Pullman Bread Pan~

The Pullman loaf is the quintessential white sandwich loaf. The name "Pullman" comes from its use in the kitchens of the Pullman Company's railway cars of the 1800s, and, the Pullman company is credited with inventing the rectangular-shaped lidded baking pans (which coincidentally resembled the shape of the railroad cars).  Baking bread in a pan with a lid is, functionally a bit different than baking bread in an open-topped pan, which, of course, affects the crumb structure.  The confined space, which doesn't allow most of the steam to escape, prevents big air bubbles from forming, which keeps the crumb fine and tight, which renders it easy to slice thin, and, it keeps the crust to a minimum too. There's more. Because the Pullman loaf produces perfectly square slices, it's hands-down the bread-of-choice for making sandwiches, plus, the thin crust means there's very little waste when a perfect presentation requires trimming off the crust.

The traditional Pullman loaf is an enriched white bread.  This means besides yeast and white flour, the dough is enriched with butter, sugar and salt, and, milk is often used in place of water.  The ratios of ingredients depend on the level of sweet or savory desired, at the discretion of the baker, but, only judicious amounts of each are used to keep the bread's signature mild, buttery flavor.  Once the dough is kneaded and proofed, it goes into the Pullman pan to rise again prior to sliding the lid on the pan and baking it in the oven.

I use my bread machine brioche recipe to mix & proof the dough:

Feel free to use your own recipe and feel free to mix and proof it in the traditional manner, but, in my kitchen, the bread machine is my tool-of-choice for these tasks.  It takes me five-to-ten short minutes to prep and get the ingredients in the bread pan, and after that, the machine does all the kneading.  About an hour-and-a-half later, my dough is proofed and ready to go into the Pullman pan for its last rise.  It's such a convenience, I have no desire to do it the old-fashioned way.  

1  cup whole milk

5  tablespoons salted butter, cut into pieces

4  tablespoons sugar

1 1/2  teaspoons sea salt

2  large eggs, lightly beaten

4 1/4  cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2  teaspoons granulated dry yeast, NOT rapid-rise (1 packet)

~ Step 1. Always follow the instructions that came with your bread machine -- they all vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer. This is the rectangular-shaped bread pan that came with my machine.  The paddle (which will do the kneading), has been inserted.  The instruction manual states to always insert the paddle this this position before adding any ingredients, so I do.

~Step 2.  In a 1-cup measuring container, heat the milk until steaming.  This is quickly and easily done in the microwave.  Add the sugar, salt and butter to the hot milk.  Using a fork, stir until butter has melted.  Pour this mixture into the bread pan.

~ Step 3.  In the same 1-cup measure and using the same fork, whisk the egg to lightly beat it.  Add the beaten egg to the milk mixture in bread pan. Note:   "Wet ingredients first/dry ingredients second" is a rule in bread machine baking.

~ Step 4.  Add the flour to bread pan.  Do not mix or stir.  Using your index finger, make a small indentation in the top of the flour, but not so deep that it reaches the wet layer.  Add/pour the yeast into the indentation.

~ Step 5.  Insert bread pan into bread machine and press down until it is "clicked" securely in place. Close the lid and plug the machine in.  Press "select".  Next, select the "loaf size" and choose the 2 pound option. Lastly, choose the "dough" cycle.  Press "start".  In my machine, my dough will have been kneaded, proofed, and, have gone through a first rise in 1 1/2 hours -- the dough is now ready to go.

~ Step 6.  Open the lid of the machine and remove the pan of dough.  Using your fingertips, pull the dough away from the sides of the pan, punching it down as you work, then remove the dough from the pan.  Between the palms of your hands form the bread into a loaf-looking shape, and, proceed with the Pullman bread as directed below. 

Spray the inside of an 8.35" x 4.5" x 4/5" Pullman half-loaf pan & inside of lid w/no-stick:

Gently place the once-proofed bread dough in the bottom of prepared pan:

Cover the top of the loaf pan w/plastic wrap & rise 25-30 minutes:

When the center of the highest point of dough is just below top of pan, remove plastic:

Slide lid on pan & bake on center rack of 350° oven 25-30 minutes:

Remove pan from oven & slide lid open to check doneness by gently tapping on the top of the loaf w/knuckle of index finger -- it will have a hollow sound when bread is done.  Slide the lid back on the pan & invert pan (lid on the bottom) onto a wire rack:

Slide lid off bottom of pan (pictured above), remove top pan from loaf & cool completely:

How to Bake a Pullman Loaf in a Pullman Bread Pan:  Recipe yields instructions to bake one half-loaf in an 8.35" x 4.5" x 4/5" Pullman loaf pan.

Special Equipment List:  bread machine; 2-cup measuring container; fork 8.35" x 4.5" x 4/5" Pullman loaf pan w/lid; wire cooling rack 

Cook's Note: A flat-topped loaf of white sandwich bread that gets baked in a square-sided loaf pan with a lid is, culinarily, known as a Pullman loaf.  The technical term for the loaf pan itself is a Pullman pan. The French terms for a Pullman loaf are "pain-de-mie" ("pain" meaning "bread", and "mie" meaning "the soft white inner part of the loaf"), and, "pain anglais" (meaning "English loaf").  It's a loaf of firm-yet-soft enriched white bread with perfectly square sides and minimal crust.  It slices easily, making it the quintessential sandwich loaf.  To learn more, read my post: ~ What Exactly is a Pullman Loaf and a Pullman Loaf Pan ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2021)

Comments

[Marybeth Brockman]

Would you please help me convert your recipe to a 17” pan?
I purchased the Pullman PaN before I saw most recipe we’re for 13” or smaller. I tried one pastry conversion method but it was VERY tricky.
I would be so appreciative!