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From the Wood-Fired Oven

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Variation:
Cinnamon Spiral Pain de Mie
Cinnamon Spiral Pain de Mie is comfort food with
style. Toasted pieces of this bread are great for breakfast, teatime, or a midnight snack.
A perennial problem with cinnamon swirl breads
is the creation of cavities between the bands of dough.
This happens as the sugar liquefies, gives off steam, and
forms a slip joint, forcing layers of dough away from
each other. Baking a spiraled loaf in a lidded Pullman
pan is the best way Ive found to prevent cavitiesthe
pan confines the loaf to the square shape of the pan.
The dough, swelling inside the pan, pushes the layers
together, creating a baked loaf compressed enough that
slices dont fall apart in a curlicue.
Other dried fruits can be substituted, but Cinnamon
Spiral Pain de Mie seems most elegant with golden raisins.
Yield: 1 Pullman loaf
Prefermented flour: 0% (this is a straight
doughone that doesnt contain a preferment)
Wood-fired and home oven temperature:
See the descriptions in the Pain de Mie recipe.
Dough
Ingredient

Weight (g)

Unsalted butter
95
Bread flour
525
Salt
13
Granulated
21
sugar*
Dry milk solids
26
Instant
5
active yeast
Water
315
Golden
raisins, room
240
temperature
Total
1,240

Volume
7 Tbsp
4 C
2 tsp
13

Bakers %
18
100
2.5

2 Tbsp

114 tsp

113 C

60

2C

46

14

* Pureed golden raisins can be used in place of the refined white sugar,
with no perceptible difference in the baked loaf.

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Cinnamon Spice Mix

Ingredient

Weight (g)

Granulated
sugar

100

Cinnamon

30

Cardamom,
ground
Cloves, ground
Total

2.6
1
133.6

Volume

Bakers %

100

C
+ 1 tsp

30

12
14

112 tsp
tsp

34

2.6
1

Desired dough temperature: Adjust the water

temperature so the dough is 76F (24C) at the end
of mixing.
Remove the butter from the fridge and pound it
soft with a rolling pin. The butter will be worked into
the dough through the action of the mixer on medium
speed. Adding melted or very soft butter will make your
dough greasy. You wont need to strike it more than 10
or 12 times. Make sure it can take the impression of
your finger.
Combine all of the ingredients except the butter
and raisins in the bowl of a mixer. Mix on slow speed
for 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium, add
half the softened butter, and mix for 1 minute. Add the
remaining softened butter and mix for an additional 5
minutes. All the butter should have disappeared into
the dough, creating strength and suppleness. Reduce the
mixer to slow and add the raisins in two parts. Mix until
evenly dispersed, 2 to 3 minutes. Check the dough on
the bottom of the bowl to make sure the raisins are completely incorporated. You may want to knead the dough
on your work surface for a few strokes by hand to get
them evenly mixed in. It wont be much work and the
dough will feel good under your hands. It may seem like
too many raisins at the moment, but they will get spread
out during the shaping process. Cover the dough and let
it ferment for 112 hours, folding once after 45 minutes.
Spray a 13" Pullman pan with non-stick spray.
Carefully turn out the dough onto a lightly floured
surface. Gently de-gas the dough as you pat it into a

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rectangular shape. Roll it into a 13" 24" rectangle.
Egg-wash a 2" strip along one 13" edge. Spread the spice
mix over the entire piece of dough except for the eggwashed edge. Make sure to get the spice mix as close
as possible to the other three borders. Roll the dough
toward the egg wash, and place the rolled cylinder into
the Pullman pan seam side down. Put the lid on the pan,
but leave it open an inch or two so you can check the
doughs progress as it proofs. Itll require approximately

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2 hours to achieve full volume. (Spices like cinnamon

and clove slow down yeast activity. Because of that, and
also due to the raisins, this dough will take longer to
proof than the plain Pain de Mie. Be patient and give it
a little more time.)
The dough is ready to bake when its top surface is
about 12" below the lid of the pan. Close the lid completely before baking. Use the baking instructions for
the basic Pain de Mie.

After the spice mix is applied to the dough, roll into a 13" log and place in a Pullman pan.

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Pain de Mie
y

Pain de Mie is an enriched sandwich bread baked in a

lidded Pullman pan, so the final loaf is square. This isnt
just any sandwich breadthe crumb is firm and reminiscent of pound cake, while the crust is intended to
be soft. Its great for cold sandwiches but extra luscious
when toasted or used for any type of grilled or pressed
sandwich. Or you can cut out pieces with decorative
cutters and create elegant canaps for your guests while
they watch you make the first pizzas of the evening.
Two favorite uses of Pain de Mie are melba toast and
bread crumbs. (Youll find more information on both
in chapter 13.)
You can also bake 680g pieces of this dough in a
regular loaf pan, although the crumb will be a little
more open because the lid wont compress the dough
as it springs during the first minutes of baking. If you
do bake this dough in an unlidded pan, egg-wash and
score the top of the loaf right before you bake. If you fail
to score the loaves, they will likely rip and shred along
the edge of the pan. The smaller loaves will bake more
quickly than the Pullmans. Bake for about 35 minutes
at 350F (177C). The rich egg-washed dough will take
color quickly. You may need to tent the loaf with foil or
bring it into a cooler zone by the oven door to prevent
overbrowning. You can also make nice 85g rolls with
this dough, although these will still be heavier than
southern light rolls.
In the Southwhere people often gravitate toward
biscuits and light rollsPain de Mie gave me the opportunity to meet local people in our community who
might not have stopped by the ovenhouse for a loaf of
crusty Pain au Levain, but who loved Pain de Mie.
Yield: 1 Pullman loaf
Prefermented flour: 0% (this is a straight
doughone that doesnt contain a preferment)
Wood-fired oven temperature: 375F to 450F
(191232C). The temperature of your wood-fired
oven is a little less crucial for Pain de Mie and its sister,
Cinnamon Spiral Pain de Mie, than for hearth breads.

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The pan protects the loaves, so it can go into an oven

as hot as 450F. If you bake that hot, however, you may
want to place the Pullman pan on an inverted sheet
pan after 15 to 20 minutes to prevent the bottom crust
from getting too thick and hard. You shouldnt load
this big loaf below 350F (177C), thoughlower
temperatures wont give the oven spring necessary for
the dough to fill out the pan completely. If you do bake
at the lower end of this range, you likely wont need the
inverted sheet pan. After 20 to 30 minutes, remove the
lid from the pan and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Check the sidewalls of the loaf. They should be solid
and golden brown. If they arent, invert the pan and let
the Pain de Mie slide out onto a sheet pan. Bake for
an extra 5 minutes or until the sidewalls have enough
structure to hold up the weight of the loaf.
Home oven: Bake at 450F (232C) for 10 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 350F (177C) and bake for
25 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and bake for
another 10 minutes. Check the sidewalls of the loaf. They
should be solid and golden brown. If they arent, invert
the pan and let the Pain de Mie slide out onto a sheet
pan. Bake for an extra 5 minutes or until the sidewalls
have enough structure to hold up the weight of the loaf.
Pain de Mie
Ingredient

Weight (g)

Unsalted butter
Bread flour
Salt
Granulated
sugar*

113
630
16

Dry milk solids

31

Instant
active yeast
Water
Total

25

6
378
1,199

Volume

Bakers %

C
5 C
1 Tbsp
2 Tbsp
+ 1 tsp
14 C
+ 2 tsp

18
100
2.5

112 tsp

12

14

113 C
+ 14 C

4
5

60

* Pureed golden raisins can be used in place of the refined white sugar,
with no perceptible difference in the baked loaf.

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From the Wood-Fired Oven

Its easier to get tightly shaped loaves if you twist together two baguettes of Pain de Mie dough.

Photos by Kate Kelley

Desired dough temperature: Adjust the water

temperature so the dough is 76F (24C) at the end
of mixing.

creating suppleness. Cover and let the dough ferment

for 112 hours, folding once after 45 minutes.
Spray a 13" Pullman pan with non-stick spray.
Carefully turn the dough onto a lightly floured
surface. Gently de-gas the dough as you pat it into a
rectangular shape. Divide the rectangle roughly in
half. (Its okay if the two pieces arent exactly the same
weightthey will be twisted together and placed into
the same pan.) Shape each piece into a baguette-like
rope about 20" long. Lightly twist the ropes together
and place in the Pullman pan.
Put the lid on the pan, but leave it open an inch or
two so you can check the progress of the dough as it
proofs. The dough will require 1 to 112 hours to achieve
full volume. Its ready to bake when the top surface of
the dough is about 12" below the lid of the pan. Close
the lid completely before baking.

Mixing: Pain de Mie is best made with a mixer.

Remove the butter from the fridge and pound it soft
with a rolling pin. The butter will be worked into the
dough through the action of the mixer on medium speed.
Adding melted or very soft butter will make your dough
greasy. You wont need to strike it more than 10 or 12
times. Makes sure it can take the impression of your finger.
Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in
the bowl of a mixer. Mix on slow speed for 4 minutes.
Increase the mixer speed to medium, add half the softened butter, and mix for 1 minute. Add the remaining
softened butter and mix for an additional 5 minutes.
All the butter should have disappeared into the dough,

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