I adapted my Sourdough Pullman Loaf recipe from this recipe on myloveofbaking.com, a blog written and curated by Vindi. If you’re interested in baking a Sourdough Pullman Loaf, I recommend that you start by following the link to her recipe, because it’s incredibly prescriptive and thorough, and it has very clear pictures of each step. Her blog is professional and informative; her recipes are well-tested; her photographs are gorgeous. And she also offers workshops on sourdough! If you follow her blog and her guidance, you’ll be in good hands.
However, I’ve revised and simplified Vindi’s recipe to map to my own process. I’ve listed the ingredients in the order in which they appear in the instructions. Not a big deal, just how I do things. More importantly, I’ve outlined the steps in terms of the rough timeline needed to get from feeding the starter to slicing the cooled loaf. I don’t bake a Pullman Loaf often enough to have internalized the process, so my revisions not only simplify the steps, but also help me to plan how I’ll fit the process into my day(s) – for me it is a two-day process. Vindi offer alternatives to this slow fermentation (which is what makes this a two-day process in my kitchen), but once again, a long, cold fermentation works for me. It produces a lovely, complex sourdough flavor, and the long fermentation is better for Ron’s digestive issues, which is what sent me down the sourdough path in the first place.
This Sourdough Pullman Loaf is quite different from the Sourdough batards I bake nearly every day. This loaf is enriched with butter, so it has a softer crust and a more delicate crumb. It’s wonderful for sandwiches, even crustless finger sandwiches. Oh, and there’s toast. Toast with a soft-boiled egg.
This Sourdough Pullman Loaf is perfect for making very fine, delicate breadcrumbs as well. Just slice off the crust, tear the bread into pieces, and pulse it in your food processor. I also make breadcrumbs using Sourdough batards, but the resulting breadcrumbs are more rustic, more like panko. It all depends on what you’re going for.
Sourdough Pullman Loaf
Equipment
- stand mixer
- 1 Pullman loaf pan with lid
Ingredients
- 4 T butter (room temperature)
- 100 g active starter (100% hydration)
- 350 g All-Purpose Flour
- 1 t salt
- 2 T sugar
- 2/3 cup milk
- 100 ml water
Instructions
Day 1 (morning)
- Feed your starter – Add equal parts flour and water to your starter and stash it in a warm place.
DAY 1 (mid-afternoon, once the starter is active and bubbly)
- Cube the butter – Cut the butter into small cubes. Set aside.
- Mix, rest, and form the dough – Place the bowl of your stand mixer on your digital scale (set to grams), and tare out. Add the 100 grams of starter, then tare out again, and add the flour. Add the rest of the ingredients except the water and butter to the bowl. Start mixing (using the dough hook) and slowly pour in the water. Once the flour is fully hydrated, add the butter, one cube at a time, until completely incorporated. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Once rested, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on medium until the dough pulls away from the sides. Lightly flour your work surface, pull the dough out of the bowl and stretch, fold, and knead the dough until the dough is very smooth.
- Bulk fermentation – Form the dough into a ball and let it rest in a warm spot in a covered bowl for 4 – 5 hours.
- Cold fermentation – Punch down the ball, reshape it, and place it back in the bowl. Let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
DAY 2
- Form loaf – Lightly flour your work surface and spray the inside of the loaf pan and lid with cooking spray. Roll the out dough (using a rolling pin) in a long rectangle the width of the loaf pan. Tightly roll the rectangle of dough (using your hands) like a jelly roll, and pinch the ends. Place the dough seam side down in the pan. It should be a snug fit.
- Final rise – Cover the pan and put it in a warm place for the final rise. The pan should be nearly filled in about 4 hours. Preheat your oven to 375℉ toward the end of this final rise.
- Bake – Bake in your covered loaf pan for 20 minutes. Uncover, reduce the oven temp to 350℉, and bake another 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature is at least 200°.
- Cool completely – Remove from the oven, and tilt the loaf out of the pan onto a wire rack. Let cook completely before slicing.
Notes
SLICING: To achieve perfectly even slices, which is crucial for a Sourdough Pullman Loaf, I use a bamboo slicing guide. The sides are adjustable to fit the width of your loaf, and you can move the slicing guide to maintain a snug fit for perfect slices every time. Because I don’t eat sandwiches or toast very often, I slice the whole loaf, slide it into a bread bag, and freeze it. It’s easy to just pull out a slice or two whenever – the slices thaw on the counter in no time.
BACKGROUND NOTE: If you’re curious as to why this type of loaf pan and resulting loaf are called “Pullman,” check out this explanation from the Tasting Table.
This looks sooo yummy! I don’t know if I have the attention span to make it myself though. 🙂