Friday, October 31, 2008

Wild Yeast Pain de Mie


Pain de mie is the french name for sandwich or Pullman bread. In other words, it is soft, tender bread baked in a loaf pan. I made this one with some of my wild yeast starter, adding a little instant commercial yeast to guarantee a faster rise. I am not sure is the wild yeast made a difference. The bread was not sour, and I blame this on my local bacteria.
The recipe uses 2 builds, meaning that I first combined the starter with some flour and left it overnight to build flavor, and then added it to the main dough.

Ingredients:

The night before:
  • 4 oz milk (11o g)
  • 12 oz starter (340 g)
  • 4 oz whole wheat flour (110 g) [You can use bread flour here, but I prefer the rustic appearance gained by using some whole wheat]
Mix everything together and leave out for about 2 hours (until it doubles in volume. Then, refrigerate it overnight.

The next day:

Take the re-ferment out of the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough.

Add:
  • 3.5-4 oz Bread Flour (110 g) [The amount you will need depends on the moistness of the starter]
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp instant /Fast acting yeast
  • 2 tbsp oil or melted butter
  • 1 tbsp honey [use the same spoon as the oil to create a slick surface. It will be easier to scrape the honey out of the spoon]
  • 1/2-1 cup water [the dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but easy to knead]
Mix well and let rest 10 minutes. Knead for 10 minutes by hand, or in a mixer for 5 minutes. Form into a ball and spray the dough with oil and let proof (rise) for about 2 hours. The dough should almost double.
Degas the dough and form into a loaf either by rolling the dough into a cylinder or another method of your choice.
Place loaf into an oiled loaf pan (small) and ferment (let rise) for another 2.5 hours.
Make a slit at the top of the loaf to prevent cracks and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350F. The loaf is done when its center reaches 195F.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing because the center is still cooking.

This bread is delicious fresh and goes especially well with cheese.

1 comment:

Catherine Granger said...

toasted, with butter and jam for breakfast: simply delicious!