First glance, I thought it was pain die me. Makes sense, with the current situation we're all in right now. I'm going to be honest, I love working from home and I don't know how I'm going to go back to working in an office.
Anyway, Pain de Mie is just a fancier name for your white sandwich bread. I know, you're thinking why does anyone need to bake their own bread when it is easily available in the supermarkets? In no order;
1. FRESHLY BAKED BREAD and definitely softer bread.
2. I love the feel of the oh-so-raw dough in my hands, so soft and stretchy. And after many touches, it grows and gets fluffier and airier >:)
3. I can control the size of the dough and it feeds me just fine. It should last me a week! Unlike the ones in the supermarkets which are meant for GIANTS and THEIR GIGANTIC families.
I'm not going to lie but my favourite bread baker is definitely Maurizio from The Perfect Loaf. The reason why is most probably because his recipes are the ones my sourdough met success with, and I've been a loyal follower since. Honestly, his recipes scared me initially because of the precision but after baking numerous times and occasionally forgetting (sometimes maybe on purpose) certain steps but it still turns out great! This recipe is very loosely adapted from his.
Oh, you'll need a sourdough starter for this. You can follow my starter recipe here if you haven't got one. But that means you can only bake this bread about 10 days later. TOUGH LUCK BRUH. But it will be worth it!
PAIN DE MIE
Makes one 8" loaf, about 10 thick slices.
Prep to bake time: One day
Dough
70g mature sourdough starter*
387g All purpose flour
50g unsalted butter, cubed and softened
30g honey
92g whole milk, chilled
170g water
8g salt
Wash
10g butter, melted
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the flour, milk and water (hold about 25g of the water for mixing later), stir until incorporated. Cover the mixing bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
Then, add the levain, salt, remaining 25g of water and honey. Mix for about 5 minutes on low speed until it comes together. Then, add the butter a piece at at time, ensuring that the butter is incorporated well before adding another piece.
Change your paddle attachment to a dough hook and mix on low speed until the dough smoothens out and is relatively stretchy.
Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the bulk fermentation (about 4-5 hours with folding intervals) process take place in a warm spot in your room. If you're in a cooler climate, like me, switch only your oven light on and place the bowl in the oven.
During the 4 hour period, perform 3 sets of folds at 30 minutes interval each.
I.e. The first fold will take place 30 minutes into the bulk fermentation process, return to oven. Rest for 30 minutes, perform 2nd fold and repeat process for third fold. Then leave the dough covered and untouched for the remaining time.
At the end of the bulk ferment, the dough should be smooth and almost doubled in size. The dough should be elastic and strong when tugged at and you'll see some bubbles on the surface.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flour the top of the dough. Tighten the dough into a round and let it bench rest for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Shape the dough into a batard, by lightly stretching the dough into a rectangle. Then fold all four sides to meet the middle, and starting with the side nearest to you, roll the dough away from you.
Place the dough (seam side down) into a well-greased loaf tin and cover with a cling wrap. Let it rise in a warm spot/or your oven for 2 to 2.5 hours or until it has risen significantly and the dough seems relaxed, filling the corners of the tin.
When the dough is ready, preheat oven to 220'c for about half and hour or until oven is ready. Gently brush your dough with the melted butter and bake at 220'c for about 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 200'c and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Remove bread from tin and let it completely cook (1-2hours) before you slice into it.
*mature sourdough starter is one where you've fed it and allow it to rise. You "harvest" it at its peak or just after it recedes a little from your sourdough jar
Good job to yourself! You now have a fresh loaf of sandwich bread! #flex