Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie

June is Pollinator Month, and I’m celebrating with this Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie – a rich and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bread infused with wildflower lavender tea.  The tea provides a lovely floral undertone without overpowering the other flavors of the loaf.

This Bee Keeper’s Loaf is the featured bread for the Bread Baking Babes.  Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, chose this bread for our enjoyment, and let me tell you, it is an enjoyable loaf.

The loaf is made with a 50/50 blend of white wheat flour and whole grain durum flour and baked in a Pullman pan to give it the characteristic square shape that Pain de Mie loaves are known for.

It is an easy bread that can be made in an afternoon; if you so choose.  Tanna provided a couple of different options, depending on what size pan you have and whether you prefer to go with the straight dough method or utilize an overnight biga for added texture and flavor.

I wanted to use my 13×5-inch Pullman pan, and the overnight biga so I went with the suggested method for making two smaller 9×5-inch Pullman loaves instead of the method outlined on the KAF site.

I didn’t bother to recalculate the amount needed for one large Pullman loaf so I ended up with extra dough. No worries! I made a Pullman-size loaf and a smaller loaf.  In the photo below, you can see the smaller loaf is dwarfed by the Pullman loaf, but the smaller slices make a very nice snack without overindulging in all of the rich and buttery goodness.

 

“This loaf is inspired by a recipe that King Arthur Flour head baker Martin Philip created for his bid for the 2016 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. Its mild, sweet honey flavor and soft and tender crumb yield slices that are ideally suited for grilled cheese — or any other sandwich, for that matter. ”  Description from KAF site

To me, Pain de Mie is a wonderful toast bread in its own right, but when you infuse it with wildflower tea, it’s even more delightful!

Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie

Option #1: Adapted from the Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie on the KAF site 

Makes: one 13X5 pullman-size loaf and utilizes the straight dough method (meaning it doesn’t have an overnight preferment)

Ingredients: (Tanna’s adaptation)

• 200 grams white whole wheat flour
• 500 grams King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 25 grams wheat bran
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 227 grams (227g) lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup (113g) milk, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons (64g) honey
• 7 tablespoons (99g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

 

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Option #2: Adapted from Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes by Martin Philip

This is the method I chose.  Refer to my edits and notes in blue.  

Makes: two 9X5 Pullman loaves (divide in half for one smaller Pullman loaf) or make one 13×5 Pullman loaf and one very small loaf

TOTAL AMOUNTS USED IN BIGA + FINAL DOUGH

• 410 grams durum flour
• 410 grams AP flour
• 352 grams water
• 172 grams wildflower tea (lavender)
• 17 grams salt, fine
• 16 grams yeast
• 123 grams butter

BIGA

• 410 grams AP flour
• 246 grams water
• pinch yeast

WILDFLOWER LAVENDER TEA

• 170 grams milk (I used 8 ounces of water)
• 35 grams honey (I added the honey to the final dough instead of adding it to the tea)
• 4 grams lavender (I used 2 tsp dried lavender)
• 2 grams chamomile flowers (I used 2 tsp dried chamomile tea leaves)

FINAL DOUGH FORMULA

• 172 grams wildflower tea
• 656 grams Biga (all above)
• 106 grams water (I used almond milk instead of water in the final dough)
• 35 grams Honey
• 410 grams Durum flour or Bread flour
• 123 grams butter (I used 113 grams / 1 stick)
• 17 grams salt, fine (I used 16 grams)
• 16 grams instant dried yeast (I used 1 1/2 tsp / 6 grams)

DIRECTIONS:

DAY ONE – BIGA

• Combine the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
• Add tepid water (75-80°F).  Mix briefly, then knead until a smooth dough forms.
• Cover and set at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours.  Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it may only take 8-10 hours.

WILDFLOWER LAVENDER TEA *

• Combine milk, honey in a small pot.
• Over low heat, warm the mixture so the honey mixes into the milk.
• When there are small bubbles around the edges add the chamomile and lavender if using.
• Turn off the heat.
• Cover and allow to set at room temperature 12 to 16 hours.
• Strain before using.
• Warm the tea to 80° when ready to use.

*I didn’t follow the above method. Instead, I steeped a couple of teaspoons of dried Spiced Orange Chamomile Tea and a couple of teaspoons of dried lavender for 5 minutes in about 6 ounces of water.  After straining out the tea leaves and lavender, I used 172 grams of the tea in the final dough.

DAY TWO FINAL DOUGH

• Ending desired dough temperature: 80°.
• Combine strained Tea, all the BIGA and the water (I added the milk and honey here).
• Mix until the biga is broken up.
• Add very soft butter, flour, salt and yeast.
• Stir until the dough forms a shaggy mass.
• Resist the urge to add more flour.

BULK FERMENTATION

• Cover and allow to rise for about 90 minutes.

FOLD

• Fold after 30 and 60 minutes; then leave untouched until divide.

DIVIDE AND PRESHAPE

• Divide the dough into 2 pieces which will weigh approximately 750 grams each.  If you are making the larger (13×5-inch) pullman-size loaf, you will need approximately 1150 grams of dough.  You will have about 350 grams left over for a smaller loaf.  
• Preshape as tubes. Cover and rest 15 minutes.

SHAPE

• Grease two loaf pans, two 9×5 inch pullman pans or one 13×5 inch pullman pan and a smaller loaf pan.
• Shape as pan loaves.
• With the long side facing you, fold the bottom third of the dough up to the center and the top third over (like a business letter). Fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand.
• Place in pans seam side down. Press dough into pans to evenly fill to all corners.

PROOF

• For loaf pans: Cover and proof until dough is about 1 to 1.5 inches above top of pan: about 60 – 90 minutes.
• For Pullman pans: Place the dough seam-down into the pan, and press it evenly into the corners. Put the lid on the pan and close all but an inch or so to monitor the loaf as it rises.
  Allow the dough to rise until it’s just below the lip of the pan, 60 to 90 minutes. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it may take less than 90 minutes for this proof.   It only took my loaf about 45 minutes.
• Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

BAKE

• Close the lid of the pan completely, and put the pan in the oven.
• Bake the bread for 20 then remove the lid and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. The loaf should be a deep golden brown on all sides.  Adjust the baking time if you are making the extra small loaf.
• Remove the loaf from the oven and, after 5 minutes, turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. Do not allow to cool in the pan as that will result in a soggy crust.

 

You Need to Make this Bread!

I encourage you to make this one.  If you don’t like lavender or chamomile or you don’t have any durum flour on hand, there are endless possibilities for using different types of flours and floral (or other) tea combinations.

Our Kitchen of the Month is Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. Please visit Tanna’s post to review her instructions and find out how to submit your bread for the monthly roundup.

For more inspiration, check out the other Babe’s posts below:

• My Kitchen in Half Cups – (Host Kitchen)
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
• Bread Experience – Cathy
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Pat
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth
• Thyme for Cooking  – Katie (roundup)

Remember, new recipes are posted every month on the 16th.  Check the Bread Baking Babes Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.

Happy Baking!

Cathy