Sourdough Pullman Loaf (Pain de Mie Sandwich Bread)

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Sourdough Pullman loaf bakes in a lidded pan, so every slice comes out square, with a soft, even crumb and a thin crust. The dough comes together in a single day with no fussy shaping. It’s homemade sandwich bread that fits the toaster and the lunchbox.

Most homemade sourdough bakes up round and crusty, like my Spanish sourdough bread. That’s lovely next to a bowl of soup, but it’s a lot to chew in a packed lunch. A Pullman loaf is tall and square instead, with straight sides and a flat top, so it slices just like store-bought sandwich bread.

By most accounts, the name comes from the Pullman railroad dining cars, where square, flat-topped loaves stacked neatly in the cramped kitchens. In France, the same bread is pain de mie, named for its soft crumb (la mie) rather than its crust.

Classic pain de mie is a yeasted bread, enriched with milk, butter, and sugar. This one is a lean sourdough loaf. Potato flakes or milk powder keep the crumb soft without any butter, and the pan’s lid traps steam the way a Dutch oven does for a round loaf.

I adapted this sourdough Pullman loaf from the same-day sandwich loaf in Elaine Boddy’s Easy Everyday Sourdough Bread Baking. Mix it in the morning, and it’s out of the oven by mid-afternoon.

If you don’t have a Pullman pan, my soft sourdough bread also bakes as a sandwich loaf in a regular loaf pan, and so does my beginner sourdough loaf bread. Both need an active starter, just like this one. If you don’t have a starter yet, my whole wheat sourdough starter gets you there.

That same active starter makes dinner too, since my same-day sourdough pizza crust rises in an afternoon. And when you’re ready for something besides bread, there are 100+ sourdough recipes to try, from biscuits to cakes and cookies.

Ingredients for Sourdough Pullman Loaf

Potato flakes and milk powder do the same job here, so use whichever is in your pantry. If you have neither, plain milk works too.

• Active sourdough starter: Feed it a few hours ahead so it’s bubbly and at least doubled when you mix. This loaf uses twice the starter of Elaine’s standard loaf, which, along with the warm water and a warm spot, lets it rise in a single day.
• Warm water: Water around 100°F (38°C) gives the dough a warm start and speeds up the rise. It should feel comfortably warm on your wrist, not hot.
• Bread flour: The extra protein gives the dough the strength to rise tall and hold a square shape. King Arthur bread flour is a good one. Elaine calls it strong white bread flour, the British name for the same thing.

The rest of the list is small, but each one matters.

• Potato flakes or milk powder: Plain instant mashed potato flakes hold onto moisture and keep the crumb soft for days, so pick unseasoned ones. Milk powder softens the crumb too. Nonfat and whole both work, since the small amount in this loaf adds very little fat.
• Salt: The teaspoon amount on the card is for fine sea salt or table salt. Kosher salt has bigger, lighter crystals, so a teaspoon of it holds less salt. Weigh it instead.
• Oil: A little neutral oil for the pan and lid, if you’d rather not line the pan with parchment.

Equipment for Sourdough Pullman Loaf

You’ll need a 9 by 4 by 4 inch Pullman pan with its sliding lid. Mine is the Pullman loaf pan from King Arthur Baking, which comes in a 9-inch and a 13-inch size.

Line the pan with parchment paper, or brush the pan and the inside of the lid lightly with oil. The top of the loaf presses right against the lid, so don’t skip it.

For mixing, a large bowl and a Danish dough whisk or a sturdy spoon are all it takes. A bench scraper helps when you shape the soft dough, and an instant-read thermometer like the ThermoPop 2 tells you when the center is done.

Once the loaf is out of the pan, set it on a wire cooling rack so steam can escape from every side. A serrated bread knife cuts clean, even slices.

How to Make Sourdough Pullman Loaf

This is a same-day bread, and most of that day is waiting. You’ll mix the dough in the morning, fold it three times over the next hour and a half, then leave it alone to rise.

Plan on about 8 to 9 hours from mixing to slicing, including an hour to cool. A warm spot around 77°F (25°C) keeps it on that schedule.

A proofing box works, or an oven with just the light on and the door cracked. Check it with a thermometer first, since some oven lights get too warm.

Mix the Dough

Put the starter, warm water, flour, potato flakes or milk powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix them roughly with your hand, a spoon, or a dough whisk until there’s no dry flour left. The dough will be shaggy and sticky, and that’s normal at this point.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set it in your warm spot for 30 minutes. The rest gives the flour and potato flakes time to soak up the water, so the dough is easier to handle.

Do Three Sets of Pulls and Folds

A set of pulls and folds takes about a minute. Wet your hand so the dough doesn’t stick, grab the far edge of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over into the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do it again.

Keep going around the bowl until the dough tightens up into a soft ball and starts to resist the stretch. Then stop, cover it, and set it back in the warm spot.

Do the second set 30 minutes later, and the third set 30 minutes after that. The dough gets smoother and bouncier each time, though it’ll still feel soft and a little tacky. Potato doughs are like that, so wet your hand again rather than adding flour.

Let the Dough Rise Until Doubled

After the third set, leave the covered bowl in the warm spot until the dough doubles in size. At 77°F, that usually takes about 3 hours. A cooler kitchen can take an hour or two longer.

Go by the dough rather than the clock. It’s ready when it has doubled, the top is gently domed, and you can see bubbles along the sides of the bowl. Soft is fine, but it shouldn’t be floppy or soupy, which usually means it rose too long or too warm.

Shape the Loaf

Line the Pullman pan with parchment, or brush the pan and lid with oil. Give the dough one last, firm set of pulls and folds to pull it into a ball.

Turn it out onto a lightly floured counter, pat it into a rough rectangle, and roll it up into a log about the length of the pan. Pinch the seam closed.

Set the log in the pan seam side down, so the smooth side faces up. A bench scraper helps if it sticks to the counter. Don’t worry if the dough slumps a little, since the pan is what gives this loaf its shape.

Let It Rise in the Pan

Cover the pan with the towel and set it back in the warm spot. Let the dough rise until the top is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the rim, usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Watch it toward the end, and don’t let it go much higher. With the lid on, the dough has nowhere to go. An overproofed loaf presses hard against the lid and can bake up dense around the edges.

Bake with the Lid On

You can bake this loaf in a preheated oven or start it in a cold one. To preheat, heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), or 360°F (180°C) on convection.

Slide the lid onto the pan. In a preheated oven, bake for 45 minutes. For a cold start, put the covered pan in the cold oven, set it to the same temperature, and bake for 50 minutes, counting from when it goes in.

Check That It’s Done

Slide off the lid and turn the loaf out onto a rack. It should be golden on all four sides and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. An instant-read thermometer in the center should read 200 to 205°F (93 to 96°C).

If it’s pale or not quite there, set the loaf straight on the oven rack, out of the pan, for another 5 to 10 minutes. The extra time out of the pan browns the sides.

Cool Before Slicing

Let the loaf cool on the rack for at least an hour before you cut it. The inside keeps cooking as it cools, and slicing it warm squashes the crumb and leaves it gummy.

For a softer crust, drape a clean towel over the loaf while it cools.

Overnight Sourdough Pullman Loaf

The rise in the pan can also happen in the fridge when your day gets away from you. Shape the dough, set it in the pan, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.

The cold slows the rise way down and brings out a little more sourdough tang. When you’re ready to bake, check how high the dough has climbed.

If it’s about 1 inch below the rim, bake it straight from the fridge. If not, leave it on the counter until it gets there. If it has risen higher than that, leave the lid off and bake it uncovered instead.

A cold start suits a chilled loaf. Put the pan in the cold oven, set it to 400°F (200°C), and bake for 50 minutes. Check the center with a thermometer, since a loaf straight from the fridge can need a few extra minutes.

Baking a Pullman Loaf Without the Lid

Without the lid, the same dough bakes into a tall sandwich loaf with a rounded, golden top. Elaine bakes her standard sandwich loaf this way, in a Pullman pan with the lid off.

Let the dough rise until it’s level with the rim, instead of an inch below it, then bake it uncovered at the same temperature for 45 to 50 minutes, or 50 to 55 minutes from a cold start. The top browns more, and the crust comes out a little firmer.

No Pullman pan at all? Bake it uncovered in a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. King Arthur Baking sizes that pan for about the same amount of flour as this recipe.

Serving Sourdough Pullman Loaf

Square slices make tidy sandwiches, from grilled cheese to egg salad, and they toast evenly right out to the corners.

Serve thick slices with a bowl of Icelandic lamb soup, German goulash soup, or nettle soup with potatoes and leeks. Toasted, they make a sturdy base for chanterelle toast.

For breakfast, spread your toast with any of the jams in my guide to how to make jam, or with a spoonful of maple whiskey pear butter. Day-old slices make good French toast, since the tight crumb soaks up the custard without falling apart.

How to Store Sourdough Pullman Loaf

Keep the cooled loaf in a bread bag or plastic bag on the counter for up to 3 days. The bag keeps the crust soft. A bread box keeps it a little crisper.

Don’t put it in the fridge. Bread goes stale faster in the refrigerator than at room temperature.

For longer storage, slice the loaf first and freeze the slices in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. The square slices go straight from the freezer into the toaster.

Sourdough Pullman Loaf FAQs

Readers ask about the potato flakes and milk powder more than anything else, followed by the sticky dough and the crust.

More Sourdough Recipes

Other recipes for your sourdough starter.

Sourdough Apple Fritter Bread

Sourdough Pizza Crust (Same Day Recipe)

Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter (& Other Whole Grain Starters)

Homemade Bread Recipes

More homemade breads for your table.

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread

Bread Machine White Bread

Bread Machine Honey White Bread

Adapted with permission from Easy Everyday Sourdough Bread Baking by Elaine Boddy. Page Street Publishing Co. 2023. Photo credit: James Kennedy.