The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Source for Pullman Pans

baltochef's picture
baltochef

Source for Pullman Pans

Several people have been asking lately for sources for inexpensive Pullman pans..Unfortunately, I have never encountered such a beast..All of the Pullman pans that I have personally used in restaurants / bakeries, and that I have purchased for myself, have been commercial quality..And that, unfortunately, means expensive..Several weeks ago I was perusing the internet to try and find a source for the 4"x4"x8.5" Pullman pans that I purchased through KA Flour 4-5 years ago..I found a website that had a good selection of the Paderno World Cuisine professional-grade lidded bread pans, but like I sometimes do, I forgot to bookmark the site..Today, I found a folded in half piece of paper with photographic notes on it that I opened up for some reason, and there was the website's name for the Pullman bread pans written down..The site is called My Cooking Store..

http://mycookingstore.com/cart/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=pullman

My Cooking Store carries the best selection of lidded Pullman bread pans of any website that I have visited, to date..They also carry the pans w/o lids for those bakers that would like to have a sandwich loaf with a square cross-section, while still retaining a domed top..The nice thing about the Paderno Pullman lidded bread pans is that they are available in sizes that no other manufacturer makes..With 5 sizes, there is a Pullman bread pan for every conceivable need..

Bright Aluminized Pullman Bread Pans w/ Lid---4"x4"x

7 7/8"--$33.50   11 7/8"--$35.90   13 3/4"--$43.90   15 3/4"--$59.90 (typo??)   19 5/8"--$47.90

Dark Blue Steel Pullman Bread Pan w/ Lid (not aluminized)---4"x4"x

7 7/8"--$33.50   11 7/8"--$35.90   13 3/4"--$38.30   15 3/4"--$38.30   19 5/8"--$43.90

Dark Blue Steel Pullman Bread Pan w/o Lid (not aluminized)---4"x4"x

7 7/8"--$25.90   11 7/8"--$27.10   13 3/4"--$27.90   15 3/4"--$29.30   19 5/8"--$31.20

 

I hope this is of some help to those looking for Pullman bread pans..While not inexpensive, these pans, just like those from Chicago Metallic, should last for several lifetimes if they are not mistreated..

Bruce

 

 

 

 

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Bruce, have you checked into Fantes?

One thing nice about their site is the use and care manuals that are available online, before you make your choice.

suave's picture
suave

I also found one, the prices are in the same range, the 8" Pullman is about $35 + S&H.

Mike

gaaarp's picture
gaaarp

I bought a Pullman pan and lid (separately) on Amazon.com.  The pan was $11.60 and the lid was was about $9.50.  I bought one more item, bringing my mercandise total over $25.00, so I got free shipping.  I have been using the pan to make all of our sandwich bread for about a month, and I'm really pleased with it.

suave's picture
suave

We know about 13" pans from Amazon, but the original conversation was specifically about short 8" Pullmans, which are much harder to locate.

ehanner's picture
ehanner

I just bought a small 8 inch by 4 inch pullman. It's all aluminum and I haven't tried it yet but it was cheap. It was for sale new on ebay as a buy it now.

Eric

suave's picture
suave

Was it a fresh addition? I scan ebay for that sort of stuff once or twice a week, and did not see it last time.

Mike

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Mike,
Here is the link to the Baking frenzy store.

I thought I was buying from the UK but the product was shipped from Malaysia, not that it matters. I have wanted to try my hand at Pumpernickel bread but winced at the price for the pan. On the day I finally decided to bite the bullet and order from King Arthur they were out of stock. Sooo, I went to ebay and found this. It's a light weight Aluminum pan with no coating but seems to be well constructed. I know zip about baking in a pullman pan so I plan to try it out next week on a pain de mie recipe I got from the KA site. Lots of oil on the inside and I may line the bottom with parchment to be safe.

Eric

suave's picture
suave

Have you ever tried this Crisco/oil/flour concoction that Mariana described back when? I use it on my aluminum pan and it works wonders. 

Re: pumpernickel, I've been itching to try it for more than a year, and I've always stopped short, because of the pan and because the size is not specified, although I think 16" is implied.

Mike

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Mike,
So you oil the inside surfaces and dust with flour? There are some spray oils that have flour incorporated somehow but I have never needed that on my non stick steel or glass pans. Honestly I don't really care much about sandwich bread square shapes, I really like the earthy deep flavor of German Pumpernickel.

Hamelman has a recipe in Bread that I'll try first but it calls for rye chops, which are hard to come by. I'll have to do some kind of smash operation to approximate the rough chops.

Eric

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I sprayed everything with Pam and had no sticking problem. --Pamela

suave's picture
suave

Apart from being perhaps the most expensive oil known to man, in my experience cooking sprays just don't work that well on uncoated aluminum surfaces, especially on old ones.  They also tend to leave brown residue on the lip of the pan.

Mike

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I buy Pam at Costco--two large cans for about $5.50, I think. My pan is old and aluminum, but I didn't get any sticking or brown residue. --Pamela

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Pamela,
Thank you for posting that picture of your aluminum pan. It looks to be about the same gauge as the one I bought only yours is longer. Do you find the need to place a layer of paper on the bottom or does it release OK with just the oil?

Eric

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I just sprayed it thoroughly with Pam--everything including the lid. --Pamela

suave's picture
suave

Eric,

I bought some rye berries from Whole Foods bulk section and whenever I need rye chops I simply crush them in a coffee grinder.  I also have a few pounds of schrot I sifted out of Hodgson Mills rye flour back when I was still using it, but that may not be  coarse enough for Hamelman's recipe.  What I do for non-stick mixture is I take equal weights of flour, oil and shortener and whip them in a bowl until mixture becomes homogeneous, then I simply coat the pan with a brush.  It keeps forever too.  If you do a search there's a recipe with pictures somewhere here on the forum.

Mike

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Somebody should buy that pan on eBay--looks like a good price. --Pamela

leanna's picture
leanna

How much did you have to pay for the pullman pan you ordered from Baking Frenzy, if I might ask?  And, how long did it take for you to receive?

 

Thanks!

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Leanna,
The link to the Bakers Frenzy store is in my post up towards the top of this thread. I paid 6.99 pounds and 2.99 shipping. I don't know how to type the British Pounds symbol, sorry:>) Anyway it converted to about 12-14 dollars US currency. It took about 2 weeks to be delivered from Malaysia. It looks just like the one on the site page if you scroll down.

All of my other metal pans have some kind of non stick coating and they work fine. However, so do the Pyrex. This is new ground for me. I hope the bread comes out cleanly as advertised. I am heartened by Pamela's post above showing her older aluminum pan, which seems to work just fine.

Eric

leanna's picture
leanna

Thanks, Eric.  I just ordered 2 of these pans and got a message from the seller saying due to an emergency they would be away for 48 hours and would ship when they return.  I get nervous when I order online, especially from another country, so I hope this turns out well.  If it does, I'll probably want even more of these.

Leanna

xaipete's picture
xaipete

If you're lacking a Pullman pan you could just use any relatively straight sided bread pan, and put a cook sheet and a brick on top of it. But I'm sure you've thought of this, but just in case.

--Pamela

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Pamela,
Please don't suggest something so easy as putting a pan and weight on a regular bread pan. I've been getting away with using the lack of a pullman pan for over a year as the excuse for not trying this. Geesh! :>)

Eric

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I figured you just needed an excuse, which was why I didn't mention that option yesterday! I've had many excuses over the years; you wouldn't believe the assortment of stuff I've accumulated and I haven't stopped.

--Pamela

baltochef's picture
baltochef

I have used plain shortening, a mixture of equal parts shortening and all-purpose flour, and various brands of pan spray (to include professional baker's pan spray) to grease my Pullman pans since I purchased the 13" one from KA almost 8 years ago..

All of these methods work well..I have never encountered problems with the loaves sticking in the pan after baking, EXCEPT when baking heavily enriched breads containing large quantities of sugar in the dough; or when the dough contained a lot of dried fruits in it..Dried fruits that have been hydrated before being added to the dough are more prone to sticking than dried fruits that are not soaked..I find the flour grease to be the preferred method of greasing the pan when baking such doughs..

All three of my Pullman bread pans are the bright aluminized steel professional-grade pans..The 13" pan is by Chicago Metallic, and the two 8.5" pans are by a unknown manufacturer that KA refuses to divulge the identity of..

I deliberately stayed away from aluminum Pullman pans when I first decided to purchase one..Having witnessed many steel Pullman pans in a non-usable state in bakeries / restaurants due to the pan's lid being bent until it would no longer slide onto the pan; I rationalized that the lids to the steel pans would hold up better than the aluminum ones, all other factors being equal..In bakeries / restaurants the lids are almost always bent due to bakers / chefs not caring properly for the lids..It does not take much abuse in order to end up with a lid that is hard to install / remove from the pan..In addition, as I found out soon after starting to bake with Pullman bread pans, if the baker allows the dough to rise just a little too much after installing the lid and baking the loaf; the end result when the baker attempts to remove the lid so the top of the loaf can finish browning will be dough that has flowed up, out, and under the rim of the pan to fill the ALL of the crevices between the lid and the pan..When this occurs with a lid that fits PERFECTLY and slides easily on and off of the pan, the end result is a lid that is very difficult to remove..This difficulty can range from approximately twice as hard to remove than a properly proofed and baked loaf; to a lid that is virtually impossible to remove..My worst case was when I had to wear elbow-length oven mitts, place a heavy towel folded over many times in the bend of my elbow up against my chest, and push-pull at the lid-pan with all of the strength in my arms to get the lid to come off..In this single instance I had dough flowing out from under the lid, and partially down the sides of the pan..

My first loaves of bread at the age of 16 werre baked in the bright aluminum bread pans common to so many American households..Within a year I had purchased 6 each of the dark steel 2.5"x4.5"x8.5" one pound, and 6 each of the 3"x5"x9" one and a half pound bread pans that have the handles on each end for easy handling..I needed these pans in order to bake up banana bread for a local fair using up three cases of donated over-ripe bananas..I noticed that I preferred the way the crust turned out from the darker pans compared to the bright aluminum pans..The brighter pans tended to produce a far darker crust, and were prone to overbaking the crust before the centers of the banana bread loaves were done..It was at this point that I stopped using aluminum bread pans, as well as Pyrex glass bread pans for bread baking..

Thanks to everyone that posted for all of the links to other sites regarding Pullman bread pans.

Pullman bread pans are a wonderful addition to any baker's equipment list..They allow one to produce nice, even slices of bread that mimic professional loaves..

Bruce

leanna's picture
leanna

Chau - Yes, I have received my pans.  I got them within a week in spite of having received an email saying they would be away for 48 hours.  I was pleasantly surpised.  The quality of the pans is not exceptional, however, they are quite serviceable.  They are much lighter weight than my other, longer pan.  Another difference is the height and width are larger.  But, I am satisfied, after revising my favorite sandwich bread recipe so that I can bake 2 at one time.  I have no complaints.  I'm actually trying to respond to Chau but don't know how to do that on here, so everybody gets to see this I suppose.  lol