March 1, 2011 - 7:13pm
Pain de Mie Formulas
I was recently given two pain de mie pans, one 9.5 inches and the other an enormous 16 inch version. But I'm having a hard time finding good formulas for them. I have one pumpernickel formula, and a pretty decent white. And I was able to adjust the quantity of ingredients so they both work in either size pan. I'm eager to try new ones, but they're surprisingly difficult to find. Does anyone have a few good formulas they'd be willing to share? Or, better yet, does anyone know a technique for converting standard formulas to pain de mie formulas? I've tried a few times to convert, but it's incredibly hard to get the quantity accurate so it fills the pan just right. Suggestions?
Share
Several of my books have formulas for pan de mie. They are all pretty similar.
There are recipes for pan de mie on the KAF web site.
I've never made pan de mie, but it's on my (very long) "to bake list."
David
Thanks for the info. I've got the KAF formula, and I'll be glad to look for yours. Cheers.
Pan de Mie lidded pans were created specifically to bake bread in railroad train galleys--think Orient Express--their dimensions specific to the specialized ovens, lidded to prevent spillage, and allowed stacking in cramped quarters. Basically, the train dining cars offered toast with breakfast, sandwiches at afternoon tea, and toast points with the evenings caviar.
It's not surprising most of the recipes are sandwich loaves. Creative bakers have subsequently found wider use for the pans, often sans lids, so they are still sold, and readily available.
I think you can adapt any panable bread formula to a Pan de Mie loaf. If you have one recipe that fills one of your pans correctly, than just fill the pan with water, pour it into an appropriate measure and note its volume. Do the same with the different pan and measure its volume. The ratio of the two volumes should be a pretty good scaling factor.
Simply mulitply the ingredients' (flour, liquids, salt) weights by the scaling factor. I'd recommend using your best judgement scaling flavorings, herbs, and yeast. When I double a recipe I don't necessarily double things like vanilla, citrus zest, rosemary and especially don't double yeast.
David G
I've been thinking about this for a while, and to be honest, it never even occurred to me to simply measure volume and calculate a scaling factor. It's a very simple solution. Most of the loaves I make in pans rise well above the top of the pan, and it'll be hard to measure this additional amount, but I can surely approximate for this additional dough. And thanks for the background. It makes complete sense, since the other name for these pans is "Pullman" which is, of course, the name of the famous train car manufacturer. Many thanks.
experimentig I found out that generally volume (weight of water when the pan is full) divided by three is the right amount of raw dough for the pan, at least for wheat-based breads. For rye breads it's a totally different story.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will play around with the ratio.
Here's a recipe for le pain de mie:
Note: this is for 10 loaves divide according to your needs and mixer capability.
Bread flour: 2731 g
Water: 1730 g
Fresh Yeast : 60 g
Sugar: 106 g
Salt: 55 g
Butter: 212 g
Milk Powder: 106 g
**If using fresh milk, substitute water grams in milk, and omit powdered milk.
Bulk Fermentation: 1.5 hours Fold/degas @45 mins
divide 500 g pieces for an 8 or 9" loaf pan.
preshape: round Bench rest: 15-20 mins. Final shapeL pan loaf.
Final fermentation: 1.5 to 2 hours
Bake at 425F (220c) for 30-35 mins.
If you're using a 9.5" pan, maybe increase it to 600g pieces and for the 16", maybe 1000 to 1100g pieces.
Let me know how it turns out.
Thanks, RoBStar, for the formula. I will give it a try. I think your weight estimations for the various pan sizes are probably pretty close - and with a little trial and error I'm confident I'll figure it out. I may convert for instant yeast, since I find it easier to use, but that's an easy conversion to calculate. Many thanks.
yep just use 30-40% less for instant yeast of what i have listed ain fresh yeast. Or 50% less in active dry yeast.