July 2026: This post was originally published in 2011. I’ve updated it for clarity, converted the formula to weights, and added a printable recipe card.
This Toast Bread with Teff utilizes a small portion of teff flour, combined with bread flour and a bit of high-gluten flour, to make a delicious, light-textured Pullman Pain de Mie sandwich bread with a creamy, earthy color.
I’ve been having fun experimenting with different grains and flours, so I wanted to try something different with this bread. I had seen a recipe for a Pullman Grain Bread that included teff and spelt, so that gave me the idea to add some teff flour to this bread.
What is Teff?
Teff is one of the supergrains. It is higher in iron and calcium than wheat, rice, millet, or oats. It is also the smallest grain in the world. It takes 150 grains of teff to equal just one grain of wheat. Pretty neat, huh!
Three main types of teff grains are grown: ivory colored with a brown cast, mahogany brown, and red. Ivory is the most delicate and the mildest of the three. That’s the one I used in this bread. I found some organic teff flour at the farmer’s market. It’s a beautiful creamy color.
My Toast Bread with Teff formula is adapted from two different sources:
Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman and Pullman Grain Bread from Cooking with Chef Brad: Those Wonderful Grains I by Brad E. Peterson.
Hamelman’s formula makes enough dough for one Pullman loaf and one small loaf. I didn’t want to make two loaves, so I adjusted the formula to make one Pullman loaf.
Hamelman’s formula also includes high-gluten flour. Some of the other bakers didn’t use the high-gluten flour, but I had some that I needed to use up, so I included it.
High-gluten flour is wheat flour where the bran and germ have been removed, leaving a basic white flour that consists mostly of starch and gluten. It is then dried, broken up, ground again, and combined with patent (fine white) flour to make a 50% protein gluten flour.
Some bakers opt to use it in their whole wheat breads, but other bakers prefer not to use it. The jury is still out as to whether I’ll continue using it once my supply is depleted.
You might enjoy these other Pain de Mie Breads:
- Bee Keeper’s Pain de Mie – a rich and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bread infused with wildflower lavender tea (two days, with an overnight biga)
- 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
- Total Time: 5 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Pullman Loaf 1x
Description
This Toast Bread with Teff utilizes a small portion of teff flour, combined with bread flour and a bit of high-gluten flour, to make a delicious, light-textured Pain de Mie Pullman Loaf with a creamy, earthy color.
Equipment needed: 13x4x4-inch Pullman pan with lid
Ingredients
- 480 grams / ~4 cups high-gluten flour
- 160 grams / ~1 1/3 cups bread flour
- 80 grams / ~2/3 cup teff flour
- 470 grams / ~2 cups water
- 13 grams / ~2 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 14 grams / ~1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 8 grams / ~2 tsp sugar
- 4 grams / ~1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1.5 grams / ~3/8 tsp malt powder
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on first speed for 3 minutes to incorporate everything thoroughly. The dough should be of medium consistency.
- Increase to second speed, and mix for an additional 3 minutes, until the gluten is fairly strong.
- Transfer to a greased bowl, cover, and bulk ferment for 2 hours, folding the dough once at the 1-hour mark.
- Preshape the dough lightly into a round and set it seam-side up on a lightly floured surface. Cover and let it relax for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Shape into a tight cylinder and place it in a greased Pullman pan, greasing the lid and its runners as well. If the dough is too relaxed to hold a tight cylinder, simply press it out evenly with your fingers so it rises uniformly.
- Slide on the lid and let the dough rise until it reaches about ½ inch below the rim, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake the loaf, lidded, for 40 to 45 minutes. To test, turn it out and thump the bottom. You want a pronounced hollow sound. If it isn’t done, return it to the pan and bake a few minutes more.
- Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack immediately. Leaving it in the pan will soften the crust.
- Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
High-gluten flour is white flour with the bran and germ removed, ground and blended with patent flour for a higher protein content. It’s optional here. You can substitute bread flour one-for-one if you don’t keep it on hand.
Weights are recommended for best results. Volume measures are approximate.
Total time does not include cooling. Let the loaf cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours.
Adapted from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman, and Pullman Grain Bread from Cooking with Chef Brad: Those Wonderful Grains I by Brad E. Peterson.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Bulk, Rest, Final Proof: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Sandwich Bread
- Method: Yeast
- Cuisine: French
This is definitely a toast bread. I especially like using it for grilled cheese sandwiches. It also tastes good as cinnamon toast.
Thanks for joining me in the Bread Experience bread-baking blog. I hope you’ll join me again soon.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
The Mellow Bakers group was started and hosted by Paul at Yumarama. We baked breads from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman.
Leave a Reply