Let the record show that despite the fresh sourdough boules that appear twice weekly on our bread board at home, I still get complaints about crisp, golden crusts that get in the way of braces and uneven holes that don’t support our sweet homemade jams in their PB&J. In order to keep my sanity stave off the comments, I started working on the perfect loaf to please them all. An even square shape for perfect triangles would be achieved with a Pullman loaf pan*, the even crumb provided by a blend of flours and the addition of a bit of butter to enrich the dough would make sure to keep the crust soft and sweet.
*If you don’t have a Pullman pan, use two medium to large loaf pans and top them with a piece of parchment paper over the bread dough and stack two cookie sheets over the paper to weigh down the bread as it bakes.
Ingredients
Honey Oat Pullman Loaf
1cupMilk (whole milk is best)240g
1/2cupWater120g
2-1/2cupsAll purpose flour300g
2-1/3cupsWhole grain Spelt flour300g
1cupOat flour130g
2-1/2tspsActive dry yeast7g
2tspsFine sea salt12g
3oz+ 1 Tbsp90g Butter, softened up a bit
1/3cupHoney100g
Instructions
Place all ingredients together in the bowl a stand mixer (or a regular large bowl if doing this by hand), starting with the liquid and adding everything over them. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is just absorbed, cover and let these all sit together for 20 minutes.
Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes on medium speed, or knead by hand for about 5 minutes. Cover and let the dough rise for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Rub butter all over a 13"x4" Pullman loaf pan (including the lid).
Take the dough and place it on your counter. Press it lightly into a rectangle about 10" by 8". Roll it up into a cylinder and rock it by moving your hands from the middle of the dough to the sides to elongate it to about 12" to 13" long. Drop it into the loaf pan. Slide the lid on the pan and bake for about 45 minutes.
Take the lid off and bake for another 5-7 minutes.