The French brioche is a classic yeast bread that's rich with butter and eggs, perhaps a cake-like bread. Today, we use the dough to make a brioche loaf, also known as brioche pain de mie in French, using a Pullman loaf pan. The recipe is simple and easy with a long chilling and resting time in between steps.
Table of Content
People often think brioche is hard to make, but on the contrary, it's rather simple and easy. I always knew soft Brioche buns or classic brioche or brioche a tete and yet never realized I could make it into a sandwich bread until one day when I had lunch at a deli in Lourdes (south of France). The bread they used was a brioche pain de mie. It blew my mind. Wow.
While you can make classic sandwich bread, brioche is a great way to elevate and add a bit more richness to your everyday sandwichs. I like making brioche sandwich bread when I have guests because it looks rather impressive. Brioche sandwich loaf also makes the best breakfast toast with butter and jam. Use leftovers to make amazing French toast, bread pudding as well as sandwiches.
About this brioche loaf
Unlike the classic Pullman bread, this brioche Pullman bread is buttery, rich with a crisp golden crumb. The loaf is delicious with defined brown crisp edges, which are so delicious.
The recipe takes longer to make because we do let the dough rise in the fridge for a good 6 to 12 hours. This helps the yeast develop more flavor and also makes it easier to work with. I highly recommend using a stand mixer because we do need to do a fair amount of kneading.
Brioche Pullman loaf vs. classic brioche sandwich bread
All bread made in a loaf pan can be used to make sandwiches, and yet to be characterized as a Pullman sandwich bread, you must have four square corners. Yup!! That's the defining characteristic of this bread. That shape actually comes from using a specific loaf pan that has a nifty sliding lid. You actually bake the bread with the lid on. So when the bread rises as it bakes it fill into the corners of the pan on all sides, giving it those perfect square corners.
I'm not really sure how true this really is, but I read somewhere that the Pullman railway company invented this bread, back in the old days, to make storage and transport easy. With this shape, they could stack the bread one on top of the other using space more efficiently.
The texture of the Pullman sandwich bread is supposed to be soft, light and fluffy. So, you must have a good recipe that's just right for the pan you have, so it will give you a perfect bread, not too dense nor too limp.
The Pullman loaf pan
This is not a pan you buy often. And just because you buy a Pullman loaf pan does not mean you can't make regular sandwich loaves in there. If you do not use the lid, what you get is a regular sandwich loaf with a round edge. I love those too! However, if you buy a regular loaf pan then you can't make a Pullman sandwich bread without the lid.
So, the smart choice according to me? If you must buy one loaf pan - buy the Pullman sandwich loaf pan. That way you can make the regular bread without the lid or a Pullman sandwich bread with the lid. You can see me use it without the lid when I made my white sandwich bread, as well as whole wheat sandwich bread - both these are made with this same pan but without the lid.
A Word on quality
I cannot stress this enough. It is very important that you buy a good quality pan. Nothing is worse than to spend time on bread and to have it stuck in the pan, or the lid does not work after one or two bakes (often an issue with low-quality metal). A good quality pan will last you for years and will be a pleasure to use over and over again.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Flour – Often, bread flour is recommended for making homemade bread. But I have been making bread now for over 10 years and I always use all-purpose flour for my brioche.
- Instant dry yeast – Today, I am using instant dry yeast but you can also use 2 ¼ teaspoon (1 packet) active dry yeast or 21 grams of fresh bakers yeast.
- Sugar – brioche is a sweet bread but you can certainly reduce the sugar by half.
- Butter – is the star of the show in brioche so use good quality butter with high-fat content.
- Eggs - Adds a lot of flavor to the bread, gives a tender crumb, and strengthens the texture.
- Milk - Enhances the flavor, and tenderizes the dough giving it a soft texture.
Step by step instructions
This recipe will make one 9 x 4 x 4 loaf (double the recipe for 13 x 4 x 4 loaf)
Prepare the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment, combine – warm milk, yeast, sugar, and eggs.
Tip - while most doughs can be kneaded by hand, a brioche is rich in butter so, it is best to use a stand mixer for kneading. - Combine salt with the flour, then add it to the mixer as well. Knead on medium speed for about a minute scraping the sides of the bowl.
Tip - Always make sure the salt is well incorporated in the flour before you add it to the yeast. - Once all the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for two minutes until smooth. The dough will be soft and sticky – that's ok.
- Next, add the soft room temperature butter one cube at a time. Once all the butter is in, knead again for 2 to 4 minutes until smooth and elastic, and soft.
Tip - this is a very soft and loose dough, so, resist the temptation to add more flour.
1st & 2nd rise
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a smooth ball.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen cloth. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in volume.
- Then, punch the dough down. Cover again and let rise in the fridge for 6 hours up to 12 hours.
Shape & Proof
- At this point, the dough will be very chilled and firm (because it’s a butter-rich dough).
- Invert on to a lightly floured surface. Knead for just 30 seconds to make it smooth and pliable again.
- First, make a ball then roll it into a nice tight sausage shape the length of the Pullman pan.
- Place into a sprayed Pullman loaf pan seam side down. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm place. This can take about 90 minutes up to 2 hours (because we started with chilled dough).
- Once you see your dough is almost halfway up the sides – spray the cover of the Pullman pan lid and place it on.
Tip - you want to place the lid on before it rises to the top so you don't ruin the rise.
Bake the loaf
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 350 F for at least 10 minutes.
- Place the loaf pan on the center rack in the hot oven. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes
- The bread is done when you tap the bottom of your loaf and you will hear a hollow sound.
- Partially open the lid and let cool for 10 minutes – before you remove and let cool completely.
- Always let bread rest for at least an hour before you cut – I know it’s hard but it will keep the bread moist.
- Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions?
If stored properly, this white bread will stay for 4 to 5 days at room temperature. It can be frozen for a month or more too. Never store bread in the fridge as it dries out.
Pain de mie is a French term for soft white or brown sliced bread. 'Pain' means bread and '(de) la
Yes. A Pullman bread pan is a loaf pan with straight sides and a lid. So, when you bake it you have four right angles unlike traditional sandwich bread with a dome. While this recipe is especially calculated for a Pullman loaf pan you can definitely bake it in a regular sandwich loaf pan.
Ideally, it works best to buy a pan but if you want you can cover the top of a regular loaf pan firmly with foil. Of course, you will have a flat top but the rest of the corners will still be the shape of the original pan. So while not perfect it will be a squarish loaf.
Yes, with a few tweaks. Bread from white wheat flour will be softer in texture than whole wheat bread and needs a little less water. I recommend using my whole wheat sandwich bread recipe which uses both white and whole wheat flour.
Yes, I have made Brioche buns, classic brioche a tete as well as brioche sandwich bread using this dough as my base.
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Printable Recipe
Brioche Loaf - Pullman Sandwich Loaf
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Ingredients
This recipe will make one 9 x 4 x 4 loaf (double the recipe for 13 x 4 x 4 loaf)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoon (7 g) Instant dry yeast (1 packet)
- 3 tablespoon Sugar
- 2 ½ cups (310 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5.00 g) Salt
- 2 Eggs large
- 1 Egg yolks
- 4 tablespoon (60 g) Butter unsalted
Instructions
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment, combine – warm milk, yeast, sugar, and eggs.Tip - while most doughs can be kneaded by hand, a brioche is rich in butter so, it is best to use a stand mxier for kneading.
- Combine salt with the flour, then add it to the mixer as well. Knead on medium speed for about a minute scraping the sides of the bowl.Tip - Always make sure the salt is well incorporated in the flour before you add it to the yeast.
- Once all the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for two minutes until smooth. The dough will be soft and sticky – that's ok.
- Next, add the soft room temperature butter one cube at a time. Once all the butter is in, knead again for 2 to 4 minutes until smooth and elastic, and soft.Tip - this is a very soft and loose dough, so, resist the temptation to add more flour.
1st & 2nd rise
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a smooth ball.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen cloth. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in volume.
- Then, punch the dough down. Cover again and let rise in the fridge for 6 hours up to 12 hours.
Shape and proof
- At this point, the dough will be very chilled and firm (because it’s a butter-rich dough).
- Invert on to a lightly floured surface. Knead for just 30 seconds to make it smooth and pliable again.
- First, make a ball then roll it into a nice tight sausage shape the length of the Pullman pan.
- Place into a sprayed Pullman loaf pan seam side down. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm place. This can take about 90 minutes up to 2 hours (because we started with chilled dough).
- Once you see your dough is almost halfway up the sides – spray the cover of the Pullman pan lid and place it on.Tip - you want to place the lid on before it rises to the top so you don't ruin the rise.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 350 F for at least 10 minutes.
- Place the loaf pan on the center rack in the hot oven. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes
- The bread is done when you tap the bottom of your loaf and you will hear a hollow sound.
- Partially open the lid and let cool for 10 minutes – before you remove and let cool completely.
- Always let bread rest for at least an hour before you cut – I know it’s hard but it will keep the bread moist.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips for making the perfect Brioche sandwich bread every single time
- Measure all ingredients ahead of time so you don't forget anything at the last minute.
- For accuracy, use a weight measure for the ingredients because every cup of flour can weigh differently depending on how you fill it.
- The milk must be warm (not hot) about 110F. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast, similarly, if the milk is too cold it will not activate the yeast.
- Though instant dry yeast has a long shelf life, it can get ruined. Always check the expiry date on the yeast. If unsure, combine the yeast with water/milk, sugar/honey, and oil/butter from the recipe and let stand 5 minutes. If it gets foamy the yeast is good to go if not, it's best to buy fresh yeast or check the temperature of the milk.
- Keep salt away from yeast as it can kill the yeast. I like to combine it with the flour then add it to the yeast mixture.
- A soft loose well-hydrated dough is not necessarily a bad thing, it often will give you a soft puffy bread, so don't be tempted to add more flour than mentioned in the recipe.
- Kneading is key to making good bread. While kneading by hand can be therapeutic, using a stand mixer is easier and quicker.
- Leave the dough at room temperature to rise until double in volume. While not recommended, when in haste, you can place it in a warm (not hot) oven this will expedite the rise.
- Bread does not have to be time-consuming. You can leave the dough in the fridge to rise for a few hours (even overnight) while you go about your chores. A slow rise will give more flavor to the bread.
- Always preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes before you place bread in or the low temperature will spread the dough too much.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Jill
Great recipe! I love to bake bread & I love Brioche! Your half right about the Pullman Pans! They were invented by the Pullman Train Car Company many years ago but it was made to make the square loaves so it looked better than regular loaves of bread! They thought it looked classier because way back, train travel was expensive & more for the elite! You have to admit, the nice square loaves do look nice! Kinda classy too!
Thanks again for this recipe!
Veena Azmanov
Indeed. Thanks, Jill.