Whereabouts of a Pullman Loaf

[Mottmott]

Does anyone know where to find a pullman loaf? Preferably unsliced? Preferably not in Jersey where I always get lost. TIA

[Andrew Fenton]

Okay, I'll bite: who is this Pullman guy, and what do you want with his loaf?

[Mottmott]

The pullman loaf is a a square loaf intended for sandwiches. I believe it is baked in a pan that has a lid that prevents it from forming a dome.

It's especially useful for making tea sandwiches. If you get an unsliced loaf, you can cut it horizontally into large slices which makes the process easier.

(My 8 year old gd is having a "tea party' for her birthday.)

Anyone with special recipes is invited to contribute.

[KatieLoeb]

Okay, I'll bite: who is this Pullman guy, and what do you want with his loaf?

I'm with Dr. Fenton. What the heck is a Pullman loaf? The only thing I've ever seen tea sandwiches made from is good thin sliced bread with the crusts cut off so it looked posh. Or maybe those little square Germanic black bread slices you buy at the deli counter.

If you want just a good loaf of unsliced bread, go to a good artisan bakery like Metropolitan or Le Bus and buy a loaf and tell them not to slice it. Any rustic un-evenness can be gently sliced off with a serrated knife.

Brini Maxwell did a great retro loaf appetizer on the show the other day. Loaf of white bread with crusts removed, sliced longwise into about 4 layers. Spread each layer with different cold mayo-based salads like egg salad, salmon salad, chicken salad, etc. Frost with icing made of cream cheese thinned with heavy cream. Decorate with little bits of veggies like carrot flowers, etc. Refrigerate until set and slice into lovely layered pieces that any pearl wearing Donna Reed wannabe would be proud of. Even the drag queens.

[Behemoth]

Pullman loaves are cool. I think I read somewhere they are especially popular in Japan. I can't say I ever saw them in Philly, though I admit I wasn't searching for them -- maybe one of those asian bakeries in Chinatown might be worth a shot? Oh, I think the bread itself is like an enriched white bread, with eggs and stuff. In fact, I think breadbaker's apprentice has a recipe, if baking is an option. Basically, prototypical american sandwich bread.

Brini Maxwell is not a real woman?!

Edited June 10, 2004 by Behemoth (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Brini Maxwell is not a real woman?! 

I admit that usually I'm pretty astute at this sort of thing, but the first time I saw The Brini Maxwell Show, I thought Ms. Sabrina Maxwell was merely a freakishly tall post-debutante from some upper-middle class outpost like Newport or the Hamptons. But something about those mannish hands and feet and that ever-so-slight shadow of an Adam's Apple led me to a Google search where the truth was revealed to me.

As far as being a "real woman" is concerned, I'd say Brini has most everyone beat, including La Grande Doyenne - Miss Martha herself. When was the last time you saw Martha Stewart in a crinoline slip with shoes and a handbag that matched to perfection?

[Louisa Chu]

I just read this term last night - from its description it's a pain de mie - a French, white bread with a dense crumb. I'm not in your area but try any good French boulangerie. Otherwise it's fairly easy to make and the pans seem to be pretty available in the States.

[Mottmott]

I just read this term last night - from its description it's a pain de mie - a French, white bread with a dense crumb. I'm not in your area but try any good French boulangerie. Otherwise it's fairly easy to make and the pans seem to be pretty available in the States.

You're probably right. But I'm not in the mood to hunt out the special pan and then bake bread at 90F for a kiddie tea party.

If I can find the unsliced "square" loaf to speed up the sandwich making for my DIL, I'll get it for her. Otherwise, she can do them slice by slice with Pepperidge Farm thin slices.

[KatieLoeb]

Otherwise, she can do them slice by slice with Pepperidge Farm thin slices. 

That's exactly what I was thinking when I suggested thin sliced white bread. Was just having a memory seizure and couldn't think of the brand.

[browniebaker]

I just read this term last night - from its description it's a pain de mie - a French, white bread with a dense crumb. I'm not in your area but try any good French boulangerie. Otherwise it's fairly easy to make and the pans seem to be pretty available in the States.

You're probably right. But I'm not in the mood to hunt out the special pan and then bake bread at 90F for a kiddie tea party.

If I can find the unsliced "square" loaf to speed up the sandwich making for my DIL, I'll get it for her. Otherwise, she can do them slice by slice with Pepperidge Farm thin slices.

I can understand not wanting to bake in 90 degree F weather, but if you ever want to try it, you can use a loaf pan topped with a cookie sheet and a brick (as a weight).

[Mottmott]

I just read this term last night - from its description it's a pain de mie - a French, white bread with a dense crumb. I'm not in your area but try any good French boulangerie. Otherwise it's fairly easy to make and the pans seem to be pretty available in the States.

You're probably right. But I'm not in the mood to hunt out the special pan and then bake bread at 90F for a kiddie tea party.

If I can find the unsliced "square" loaf to speed up the sandwich making for my DIL, I'll get it for her. Otherwise, she can do them slice by slice with Pepperidge Farm thin slices.

I can understand not wanting to bake in 90 degree F weather, but if you ever want to try it, you can use a loaf pan topped with a cookie sheet and a brick (as a weight).

Good thinking. I do have a couple pans with straight sides. When my son and his family move (they're are living with me til they finish fixing up their new house, probably by next fall), I'll have my kitchen back, all to myself, and plan to do more bread baking.

I did some years ago when my kids were young and more recently when the sour dough bread thread was first up on eGCI. But it's not much fun squeezing around the never ending cooking of a young family and all the stuff stuffed in the fridge. They're always in the kitchen.