My Mind Patch: Pain de Mie (using Cold Ingredients)

Pain de Mie, a French white bread, uses simple ingredients to bake a tender and slightly chewy bread. I adapted the recipe from a Taiwanese baker,

王传仁，who recommended adding icy cold water to the dough instead of room temperature water. The recipe was well-received by many home bakers, including me :)

Yield: one 20x10x15cm bread

Raw dough weight: 574g

Bread Weight: 519 g

Pan size:

20x10x10cm Pullman tin

Baking temperature & Time:

170 degree Celsius for 50 minutes at lower rack

Ingredient A

185~195g cold water 冰水*

25g fine sugar 细砂糖

1/2 tsp salt 盐 ~4g

10g rice bran/veggie oil 米糠油/植物油

20g cold unsalted butter 冷无盐奶油

Ingredient B

300g bread flour 高筋面粉

12g milk powder 奶粉

Ingredient C

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast 即发干酵母

* If using Prima brand flour, add 195g

If using Origin brand flour,add 185g

of water

From my experience, Prima flour produces better elastic and smoother dough for this recipe.

Directions

1. Pour ingredient A into the bread pan.

2. Add ingredient B above ingredient A.

3. Dig a hole in the centre of the flour, and pour ingredient C in.

5. Select "kneading" function and press start. The process will take about 1:30 hour to complete.

6. After the program ends, let the dough sits in the bread pan for an extra 20 to 30 minutes, or till the dough rises to almost the pan height.

As cold ingredients have been used in this recipe, they slowdown the proofing process. Therefore, it needs the extra time for the dough to rise taller.

After 30 minutes,

7. While waiting for the dough to proof, apply a thin coat of butter on the Pullman tin interior walls.

8. Invert the dough out of the bread pan and onto a floured work top.

Press down the dough to release the trapped air.

Wear a pair of disposable gloves to handle the slightly sticky dough.

9. Flatten the dough to release the trapped air. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, about 287g each.

10. Shape the dough into 2 balls by pulling down the sides, and seal at the bottom.

Cover and let them rest for about 15 min.

11. Flatten the dough and roll out into a flat oval dough.

12. Roll up the dough from the shorter side, cover with a lid, and let it rest for 15 minutes.

13. After the rest, roll out the dough into a flat dough again. The shorter length of the dough should correspond to the shorter width of the Pullman tin.

14. Flip the dough over so the smoother side will be facing out after rolling up. Roll up the dough from the shorter end.

Place the dough into a greased non-stick Pullman tin. The open end of the dough should be facing down.

15. Spray some water over the dough and place the doughs in a closed oven.

Let the dough proof in a warm oven for about 50 minutes, or till the dough reaches about the rim of the Pullman tin.

To facilitates the second proofing, you may switch on the oven to its minimal temperature for about 1 minute.

16. After the second proofing and the dough has reached about the rim of the Pullman tin, remove the dough out of the oven. Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius. And brush a coat of fresh milk over the dough.

17. Bake the dough at the lower rack of the oven at 170 degree Celsius for about 50 minutes. If your Pullman tin has a thinner wall, you can bake for about 40 minutes at the same temperature.