100% Whole Wheat Pain de Mie

Mixing:

1. Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to form a smooth, supple dough.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 ½ hours.

Shaping:

1. Lightly grease a standard (13” x 4” x 4”) lidded pain de mie (pullman) pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a log, and fit it into the pan. Flatten the top as much as possible.
2. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it’s about ½” below the lip of the pan, about 45 minutes.

Baking:

1. Carefully slip the cover onto the pan, and let it rest an additional 15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until it’s golden-brown on top and tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F.
3. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. For a soft, flavorful crust, brush the loaf with melted butter while warm.

*For the very best results, the recipe recommends organic  whole white wheat flour. Barring that, choose regular white whole wheat flour. Using a traditional whole wheat flour, one milled from red wheat, won’t give you nearly the nice results that  whole white wheat flour will.