Sourdough Pan de Mie
One of my very favorite snacks is a good old fashion peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can't get enough of these things. Usually I use a whole grain sandwich bread, like a sprouted wheat loaf, as the base because I prefer a more hearty bread and the health benefits whole grain provides. But every now and then I get the urge to make a totally classic peanut butter and jelly, white bread and all. This was the inspiration behind my latest bake: Sourdough Pan de Mie.
The loaf I decided to make was based off the amazing txfarmer's formula found here. However, this formula calls for retarding the dough overnight and a 6 hour(!) proof time. I definitely did not want to wait that long for my pb&j so I added instant yeast to reduce the bulk to to around 1 hour and the proofing time to 2 1/2 hours. The retarding was skipped all together. This probably cut down on a fair amount of sourness but I was fine with this as I wanted very limited levels of sourness in this bread. I also used whole egg instead of egg whites.
I also altered the way this dough is mixed. Txfarmer did the mixing for her bread in a stand mixer and mixed to a high level of gluten development. I don't have access to a mixer at home so I had to figure out a different way to develop the gluten. I decided to use the method I describe in lesson one with a couple modifications. 1) I folded the dough multiple times after each five minutes rest until the dough resisted more folding and 2) Even after the initial three folds I continued to fold the dough every ten minutes until the end of bulk. This worked very well as I ended up with nice strength despite the dough being surprisingly wet.
The bread turned out exactly as I had hoped! It is quite moist and mild flavored. It is subtly sweet and slightly rich. It is also surprisingly strong for being so soft. A quality that comes in handy when spreading peanut butter on top. I will definitely be making this again the next time I crave white bread.
Formula - Sourdough Pan de Mie
| Baker's % | Ingredient | 500g. Loaf |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00 | Flour | 203.00 |
| 50.24 | Milk | 102.00 |
| 30.00 | Eggs | 60.00(~1 Egg) |
| 12.31 | Sugar | 25.00 |
| 12.31 | Soft Butter | 25.00 |
| 2.46 | Salt | 5.00 |
| 37.40 | Liquid Levain | 76.00 |
| 2.00 | Instant Yeast | 4.00 |
| 246.72 | Total | 500.00 |
Process
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl by hand. Desired dough temperature is 78 degrees.Let the dough rest five minutes.
- Fold the dough as described in lesson one until the dough starts to resist folding. Rest the dough another 5 minutes and then repeat the folding. Repeat this process one more time for a total of three fold sessions in the first 15 minutes of bulk fermentation.
- Continue to fold the dough in the same manner every 10 minutes until the end of bulk fermentation which should be around 1 hour. You should end up with a strong and airy dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal weight pieces and pre-shape round as described in lesson one. Allow the dough to rest for 25-30 minutes.
- Final shape the three dough balls round and place in a 9" loaf pan. I used my great little pullman pan
.
- Proof the dough for 2 - 2.5 hours.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Steam the oven for the first 10 minutes if not using a covered pullman pan.
- Remove loaf from the oven and immediately turn out of pan. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before eating.
- Enjoy some pbjs!
Submitted to Yeast Spotting.