Will the lid of a Pullman pan substitute for steam?
If I use the lid for the first 15 minutes of baking will it change the crumb of a rye or high whole wheat percentage bread compared with baking on the stone or in an open pan?
If I remove the lid after 15 minutes of baking, will the loaf expand beyond the Pullman shape?
I don't want a pain de Mie; but using the lid instead of the usual steam pan would be a convenience.
Thanks
Will it make a difference - yes. Would you like it - up to you. Enjoy!
I have gotten large loaf volumes using a Pullman pan with lid for lean loaves, and Bennie gets even more expansion, apparently every time - and usually without a lid. I can't say for sure if steam is the cause, but since water can't escape through the sides very much, the dough ought to remain pliable longer than one not in a pan. I think the crumb of these loaves seems a little different from hearth-baked ones, usually fairly even. The crust comes out different too, even compared with a conventional open pan.
I don't have experience with high-rye loaves in Pullmans.
I don't think there will be any rising activity after 15 minutes or 20. I usually let the loaf bake for about 30 minutes, then take the lid off and bake 5 - 10 minutes more. Then I will slide it out of the pan and possibly bake for another 5 - 10 minutes to get more color all over the loaf.
A high rye bread often has or hangs onto a lot of water. This might make you want to bake it longer than usual. OTOH, my Pullman loaves usually bake for a shorter time at a lower temperature than my hearth loaves do. So you will just have to experiment just as always.
TomP
Remember, the dough is touching the lid, so if it's removed after 15 min, say, and the crust is not set, it could ruin the top of the loaf. If the crust is set and the lid is removed, the bread won't expand any more, although I suppose it could split.
The alternative is to underfill the Pullman pan so the loaf isn't touching the lid. I can't say how long the bake could go before removing the lid in order to get more expansion. Never done it.
Another choice would be to cover the Pullman pan with a sheet pan, instead of lid, which would trap moisture, but could be lifted to check on the dough.
The lid definitely needs to stay on until the loaf has firmed up, and if the amount of dough is so large that it will squeeze into all the little crevasses it needs to stay on until the end. You should butter or oil the lid well, in which case if the top is gently flattened there will be no trouble sliding the lid off. You will just have to plan on adjusting the dough amounts with a few trials. The sheet pan idea ought to work too; just make sure to butter or oil it too.
Or use an amount of dough that you can be pretty sure won't press on the lid. Rye doesn't usually expand as much as wheat. With a wheat bread, if I'm not going for a huge expansion, 450g of flour will partly but not completely flatten on the top.
I bake in Pullman pans with the lid on every week for our daily loaves. We like the shape.
For loaves that I want to be taller with a rounded top I use an inverted Pyrex pan the same size as the Pullman pan. I proof the loaves using the inverted pan and when ready to bake they go straight into the oven. I remove the inverted Pyrex pan at 20 minutes and find that, for my oven, it's just enough steam to help with the rise. Then continue baking without the Pyrex topper.
Dave
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The lid works well as a substitute for other steaming methods.
If you remove it up to 20 mins into the bake without the top of the loaf already hitting the lid, then it will probably continue to expand. Loaves that I bake this way sometimes expand beyond the rim of the pan well into the 30th min of the bake, though these loaves tend to have at least 60% bread flour.
Yes, the crumb is slightly more even, as Tom mentioned above. For me, the bigger difference is in the crust.