Dense Bottom , Pan De Mie

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loaflove on 5 Jun 2025 at 17:25

Hi there

I made a matcha pain de mie and it turned out good but IDK why the bottom is dense.  I've read some theories online but I'm still not too sure what the real reason is.  Someone said underproofed?  But my banana bread which is not yeasted also has a dense bottom.  Maybe that's just a coincidence? It appears the sides are a bit dense too?  Can anyone weigh in please?  Thank you !

 

 

LL

Since the bread doesn't have anywhere to go as the dough expands during baking, the top, sides, and bottom tend to get compressed.  The dough nearest the pan is the first to expand, since it is the first to heat up.  Later, as heat penetrates to the center of the dough, it begins to expand and winds up compressing the outer dough that had expanded earlier.

Question 1: What are the dimensions of your Pullman pan?

Question 2: How much dough, by weight, was in the pan for this bake?

The solution is to reduce the amount of dough in the pan.  If you answer the two preceding questions, folks here will be able to give you some suggestions for how much dough to put in the pan.

Paul