Makes one 13 × 4-inch/33 × 10 cm loaf
IN OUR WHOLE-GRAIN, RUSTIC, ARTISAN BREAD–OBSESSED WORLD, I FEEL THAT white sandwich bread gets the shaft far too often. I mean, yes, the squishy, plasticky type you can form into Ping-Pong ball facsimiles isn’t exactly great eating when there are better-tasting, higher-quality breads just about everywhere these days. But do not overlook the simple pleasure of a straightforward, milk-based, tight-crumbed white bread, especially if it comes along with a great story.
Also known as pain de mie, this bread has European roots going back to the 1800s, where bakers made it in specially made lidded pans that would trap steam and turn out a loaf with minimal crust. The resulting loaves turned out perfectly square and soft. In the Midwest, this style of bread is known as Pullman loaf, and got its name during the railroad boom of the mid- to late 1800s. The Pullman Car Company was an Illinois-based leader in the industry, turning traveling by rail into an experience, complete with comfortable sleeping and dining cars. The square-shaped pain de mie was a superb fit for the compact kitchens on the trains; without a domed top, twice as many loaves could stack into the smallest of storage spaces.
¼ cup/57 g warm water (110°to 115°F/43° to 46°C)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
4¼ cups/544 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1¼ cups/280 g warm whole milk (110° to 115°F/43° to 46°C)
3 tablespoons/42 g unsalted butter, melted
Nonstick cooking spray or oil for bowl and pan
In a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Add the flour and salt to the mixer bowl. Pour in the milk and melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Fit the mixer with a dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed until soft, smooth, and elastic, when the dough is clinging to the hook but moving cleanly off the sides of the bowl, 5 to 6 minutes. Briefly remove the dough from the bowl, spray it with nonstick cooking spray or oil it lightly, and replace the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.
Lightly grease a 13 × 4-inch/33 × 10 cm Pullman pan and its lid with or nonstick cooking spray or oil.
Generously flour a work surface. Scrape the dough onto the work surface and gently press out the air, shaping the dough into a roughly 10 × 7-inch/25 × 18 cm rectangle as you do so. With the short end closest to you, fold the longer left side into the center of the rectangle, pressing the seam tightly. Repeat with the longer right side. Repeat this folding into the center with the 2 short sides. Rotate the dough 90 degrees so 1 longer side is now closest to you. Fold and press the longer sides into the center once more. Flip the dough over—you should now have a nice smooth loaf. Gently and evenly roll the dough back and forth to form a 13-inch/33 cm log. Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until in warm spot until it’s 1 inch/2.5 cm from the lip of the pan, no higher, about 45 minutes. Overproofing will lead to a collapsed loaf.
Position a rack to the center of the oven, and preheat it to 400°F/200°C. Slide the cover onto the pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 20 minutes more, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped (the internal temperature should register at least 190°F/88°C on an instant-read thermometer).
Turn out the bread onto a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
NOTE > To sample this taste of the past, with its golden crust and tender, soft-spongy interior that cries out to make your next picnic sandwich the very best it can be, you’ll need a Pullman pan. The pans are not terribly expensive, plentiful online and in kitchen stores. The purchase is worth it for this wonderfully simple, flavorful bread. Alternatively, you can shape the dough into a 9-inch loaf and use 9 × 5-inch/23 × 12.7 cm metal loaf pan. Let the dough rise a final time until it’s 1 inch (2.5 cm) over the lip of the pan. Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting the loaf with aluminum foil halfway through the baking time.