I was thrilled to receive a small Pullman pan (9"x4"x4") for my birthday. (Thanks, Jill!) Since my kitchen turns into an oven of its own during the summer, I hadn’t had the chance to actually use it yet, not wanting to add more heat by turning on the oven.
But we’ve been having a stretch of cool nights and warm (but thankfully not humid) days lately, so it felt like the perfect time to finally bake some bread and test out my new pan. At first, I thought about just scaling down the recipe I usually make for my 13" Pullman, but in the end I decided to give the King Arthur recipe a try.
Everything went smoothly—mixing, kneading, the first rise—until I let it go a little too long on the second rise. I had to punch it down a bit to get the lid on, which I’m pretty sure kept it from getting that nice oven spring. Even so, the bread is delicious, and it makes excellent toast.
I actually think this smaller pan might be more practical since there are just two of us. Next I'll be trying a few other white bread recipes, and then a cinnamon swirl loaf, and after that maybe some oatmeal bread. From the looks of it, this pan should be perfect for just about any yeasted recipe that calls for three cups of flour—so I’ll be happily testing that theory in the months ahead.
Hope your week is off to a good start, ideally with something tasty on your table too!
It felt good to turn the oven back on again! I did not bake bread, but it is on my list for this week! I hope you had a nice long weekend and may this week be full of good things!
ReplyDeleteI have almost quit making bread since it is just me, but I miss homemade bread. I need to find a recipe that freezes well because I usually don't eat a small loaf before it molds. Like you, now that the temps are becoming more reasonable for baking, I may start experimenting with recipes. Nothing tastes as good as homemade bread, even it isn't as pretty as you'd like. A small pullman pan is a great present!
ReplyDeleteI caught the sourdough bug and have spent hours researching it. I haven’t attempted it yet but I did make two small loaves of my usual last week. The cool mornings make me want soup and crusty bread for dinner. I think I’ll go start some right now.
ReplyDeleteI was never very successful with sourdough but it is my favorite. Soup and bread for dinner sounds delicious!
DeleteOh my! Your bread looks delicious. I was just thinking of making some bread yesterday, but we have way too much of that stuff around...we need to get through what we have first. LOL. What a nice gift!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than fresh-baked bread!
ReplyDeleteOkay. I wish I lived next-door so you might invite me over for some tea and toast! XO
ReplyDeleteIt looks yummy - do you have to adjust for a lidded pan besides the size of the loaf?
ReplyDeleteNope, no other adjustments needed. The lid just keeps the dough from rising above the pan and produces nice square bread. It didn't happen exactly that way with this loaf, but fingers crossed for next time.
DeleteYum, I love the smell of toast in the morning. Yours looks delicious. It sounds like there will be some delicious bread baking in your kitchen.
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