Pullman Loaf Bread

This easy loaf is also known as pain de mie, bread of the crumb in French because of its perfect texture.

❤️ Why I love this recipe

• Easy to cut through the tender, soft crumb
• So versatile—tasty as a sandwich loaf, Texas toast, or French toast
• Enriched white bread is easy to freeze and stays great after thawing

Pullman bread, also known as pain de mie, is a classic-style loaf of bread, recognized best for its well-known square slices and cravable texture!

Plus, the thin, golden brown crust is easy to trim off without much waste for elegantly presented tea time snacks—or, to appease picky eaters!

🧾 Ingredients

This is an "at a glance" list of ingredients. You'll find the list and the measurements in the printable recipe card below.

🔪 Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the active dry yeast, sugar, and warm water.
2. After about ten minutes, add two cups of flour to the yeast mixture.
3. Pour in the milk and stir.
4. Add the salt, dry milk powder, and mashed potato flakes.

1. Add the rest of the flour slowly, mixing until smooth bread dough forms.
2. Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm place for two hours or in the fridge overnight.
3. Place dough in a Pullman pan. Let rise until it reaches the lip of the pan.
4. Bake, removing the sliding metal cover about halfway through.

🥫 Storage

Like most homemade loaf bread, Pullman loaves are best enjoyed within three or four days of baking. However, you can also freeze the bread for up to three months!

To store the Pullman bread, wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep it at room temperature. Be sure to tightly cover any cut sections of the bread to prevent air from getting in and drying out the loaf.

For longer storage, place the wrapped loaf into a freezer-safe bag and put it in the freezer. I like to slice the Pullman loaf, first, sandwiching each slice in between a piece of parchment paper. That way, I can easily pull out an individual slice or two any time I have a taste for delicious sandwich bread!

You can thaw a full Pullman loaf at room temperature, or pop a slice or two straight from frozen into the toaster if you just can't wait—when the bread cravings call, they're hard to ignore!

🧑🏻‍🍳 Baker's notes

⭐ Expert Tip: Pay close attention to the ingredient temperatures written in the recipe. Unless otherwise indicated, the rest of the ingredients should be at room temperature for the best loaf ever!

• Sometimes tap water has chemicals or components that can interfere with the yeast and affect how the dough rises. It's best to use spring water from a bottle if you can.
• You can mix the first few ingredients with the mixer whisk, but once the dough gets thick, switch to the dough hook attachment on low speed so you don't burn out your mixer's motor.
• You can also use a food processor to knead the dough.
• If you choose the two-hour first rise, try to set the bowl in a draft-free place. Yeast is the most effective for quick growth around 75 degrees F. The warmth of your kitchen from a preheated oven is ideal!
• Letting the bread rise in the fridge? Great! This enhances the flavor and texture of the final loaf. Plus, it gives you more time to prep.
• If you don't have a Pullman bread pan, coat two regular loaf pans with non-stick spray or olive oil. Divide the dough between them, and cover tightly with a greased sheet of foil. Then, wrap each of the pans in another layer or two of foil, sealing them securely.
• No guesswork is needed to tell when your bread is finished baking—just check it with an instant-read thermometer. The internal temperature at the center should be 190 degrees F.
• To easily get the bread out of the hot pan, turn a cooling rack upside down over the top of the loaf pan. In one fluid motion, flip over both the rack and pan. Then, simply lift the pan off of your beautiful, warm bread.
• Let the bread cool fully on a wire rack before cutting into it or wrapping for storage.

💡Great Idea: Substitute up to half of the bread flour for whole wheat flour, depending on the type of flavor you like. Pullman loaves make great whole wheat bread!

✨ FAQs

🫶 We recommend

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These are the tools and products I use in this recipe.

• Pullman loaf pan
• Kitchen aid mixer

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pullman Loaf Bread

Course: Bread

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rising time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 131kcal

Author: marye

Pullman loaf bread is a mild bread with a delicate flavor and velvety crumb. It is baked in a special pan so that is is perfectly squared off and has the thinnest crust possible. We love it for French toast!

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Equipment

• pullman loaf pan

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup water spring water is best
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ⅔ cup milk
• 6 tablespoons butter melted and cooled to room temp.
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 3 tablespoons dehydrated mashed potato flakes run through the blender don't reconstitute them - add them dry.
• 4 ½ cups bread flour up to 5 cups

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Instructions

• Add the yeast and sugar to the water.
• Set it aside for 10 minutes until it is bubbly and looks creamy.
• Add the milk and 2 cups of flour and mix well.
• Mix in the salt, dry milk powder, and mashed potato flakes.
• Add more flour, a little at a time, until the dough is smooth and soft.
• Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, grease the top of the dough, and cover with a tea towel.
• Let rise for 2 hours, or until double in bulk - or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie pan.
• Gently press down the dough and shape it into a 13-inch log.
• Fit it into the pan.
• Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise unil it is just below the lip of the pan, about an hour but possibly more.
• Remove the plastic.
• Lightly grease the inside of the cover and slide it onto the pan.
• Let the dough rise for an additional 10 minutes or so while the oven is preheating to 350F.
• Bake the bread for 25 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and take off the cover.
• Return the loaf to the oven and bake it for an additional 20 minutes, or until the bread tests done. An instant read thermometer, inserted into the center, will read 190F.
• Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely, taking the loaves out of the pans after 10 minutes.

Notes

Storage:

To store the Pullman bread, wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep it at room temperature for 2 days or so. 

For longer storage, place the wrapped loaf into a freezer-safe bag and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to slice the Pullman loaf, first, sandwiching each slice in between a piece of parchment paper. That way, I can easily pull out an individual slice or two any time I have a taste for delicious sandwich bread!

Tips:

• Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise indicated.
• If you have time make it the day before and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator for the first rise, before shaping.
• If you don't have a pullman loaf pan you can spray any loaf pan really well with nonstick bake spray, then add about ½ the dough, spray nonstick spray on a sheet of aluminum foil and cover tightly , sealing it on the loaf pan. NOW wrap the loaf pan with a couple of layers of aluminum flour tightly. It's not perfect but it will work.
• This bread freezes like a charm. I like to slice it and freeze it with parchment between the slices so I can use just what I need.
• Let it cool completely before cutting. You can cut this paper thin for fancy things and thick for things like Texas toast. It's super versatile.
• You can make whole wheat pain de mie by substituting whole wheat flour for up to half the bread flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.2mg