July 2026: This post was originally published in June 2020. I’ve updated it for clarity, added a printable recipe card for the version I made, and streamlined the two method options. The formula itself is unchanged.
June is Pollinator Month, and I celebrated 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 all-purpose and durum flour, 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 using the straight dough method, or over two days if you use an overnight biga. 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-inch (13x4x4) USA 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 KAB 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 [Baking] 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. ”
from KAB web 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!
Two ways to make this bread
Tanna offered two routes to this loaf, and which one you choose depends on how much time you have and what size pan you’re working with.
Option #1 is the straight dough method. There’s no preferment, so you can mix and bake in a single afternoon, and it makes one Pullman-size loaf. You’ll find the full recipe on the King Arthur Baking site, along with Tanna’s notes and adaptations in her post.
Option #2 uses an overnight biga. It takes two days, but the extra fermentation gives the loaf a better texture and deeper flavor. This is the method I chose, partly because I wanted to use my 13-inch Pullman pan, and the two-loaf formula gave me enough dough to fill it.
The recipe card at the bottom of this post is Option #2, written up the way I made it.
My changes from the book: I used almond milk in place of water in the final dough, 113g butter, rather than 123g, 16g salt rather than 17g, and 6g instant yeast rather than 16g. I also made the tea with water instead of milk and added the honey to the final dough rather than to the tea.
You might enjoy these other Pain de Mie Breads:
- KAMUT Pain de Mie – very mild and wheaty flavor with a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth crumb that’s great for toasting (under four hours, the quickest of the group)
- Light Wheat Pullman Bread (Pain de Mie) – a yeasted sandwich loaf made with bread flour and whole wheat flour sifted once to remove the bran (about five hours)
- Sourdough Pain de Mie – a tender and buttery sandwich bread that can be made with up to 30% whole grain and still retain its fluffy texture (a full bake day, plus refreshing your starter the night before)
- Toast Bread with Teff – A Pullman Pain de Mie – using a small amount of teff combined with bread flour and a bit of high-gluten flour produces a delicious, light-textured bread with a creamy, earthy color (about five hours)
Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie
- Total Time: 17 hours
- Yield: One 13x4x4-inch Pullman loaf plus one small loaf 1x
Description
Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie is a rich and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bread infused with wildflower lavender tea.
Equipment needed: 13x4x4-inch Pullman pan with lid; one small loaf pan
Ingredients
Biga
- 410 g / ~3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 246 g / ~1 cup water, 75-80°F
- pinch of instant yeast
Wildflower Lavender Tea
- 227 g / 8 oz water
- 2 tsp dried lavender
- 2 tsp dried chamomile tea
Final Dough
- 172 g / ~3/4 cup strained wildflower lavender tea, cooled to ~ 80°F
- 656 g biga (all of it)
- 106 g / scant 1/2 cup almond milk
- 35 g / ~5 tsp honey
- 410 g / ~3 1/3 cups durum flour
- 113 g / 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 16 g / ~2 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 6 g / 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
Instructions
Day one – make the biga. Combine the flour and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix briefly, then knead until a smooth dough forms. Cover and leave at room temperature 12 to 16 hours.
Day two – steep the tea. Pour 8 oz of hot water over the lavender and chamomile and steep 5 minutes. Strain out the flowers and leaves, and let the tea cool to about 80°F. You need 172 g.
Mix the final dough. Combine the strained tea, all of the biga, the almond milk, and the honey. Mix until the biga is broken up.
Add the softened butter, durum flour, salt, and yeast. Stir until the dough forms a shaggy mass. Resist the urge to add more flour. Target dough temperature is 80°F.
Bulk ferment about 90 minutes, folding the dough at 30 and 60 minutes, then leaving it undisturbed.
Divide and preshape. Grease the Pullman pan and lid, including the runners, and grease the small loaf pan. Weigh out 1150 g of dough for the Pullman; the remainder, about 350 g, goes in the small pan. Preshape both as tubes, cover, and rest 15 minutes.
Shape. With the long side facing you, fold the bottom third up to the center and the top third over, like a business letter. Fold in half lengthwise and seal the seam with the heel of your hand. Place seam side down in the pan and press the dough evenly into the corners.
Proof. Slide the lid on, leaving it open about an inch so you can watch the loaf. Let it rise until just below the lip of the pan, 45 to 90 minutes, depending on your kitchen. Preheat the oven to 425°F toward the end of the rise.
Bake. Close the lid completely and bake 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until deep golden brown on all sides. If you’re also baking the small loaf, put it in at the same time and start checking it around 20 minutes. It’s done at an internal temperature of about 190°F.
Let the loaf rest 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. Don’t let it cool in the pan or the crust will go soggy.
Notes
Timing varies with kitchen temperature; the biga alone can take 8 to 16 hours.
Weights are recommended for best results. Volume measures are approximate.
A stand mixer makes incorporating the butter considerably easier, though the dough can be mixed by hand.
A rule of thumb is about 100 g of dough per inch of pan, although a well-leavened yeasted dough like this one fills the pan with somewhat less.
Adapted from Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie in Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes by Martin Philip, chosen by Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups for the Bread Baking Babes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Biga, Bulk, Proof: 16 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sandwich Bread
- Method: Yeast
- Cuisine: French
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 other month on the 16th. Check the Bread Baking Babes Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
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