(Check out Part Two of My Cucumber Sandwich Revenge for the sandwich recipe)
I went to see a man about a loaf pan. All the traditional outlets had failed (Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma and four restaurant supply stores) and I was starting to get desperate. See, I needed a very peculiar kind of loaf pan, one that would help me create the mysterious loaf, pain de mie, which would hopefully provide the base for the perfect cucumber sandwich. I had received a tip about a baking supply store out on the West Side of Chicago, underneath the 'L'. When I arrived all I could find was a number written on a shabby sign in a vacant lot. I questioned someone at the building next door and they said all I had to do was call the number and someone would arrive and show me what he had. It was raining, dark, and somehow I started to feel guilty. I had no reason to, I was just buying baking equipment after all. But it was only then that I realize what this cucumber sandwiches infatuation had done to me. Why did I care so much?
I needed to right some wrongs. Type "cucumber sandwiches" in Google, and chances are, a post of mine will pop up dangerously close to the top. Search for "English cucumber sandwiches", and it's number one. It's an achievement I suppose I should feel proud about. But to be perfectly and utterly honest, I wrote the post as a kind of joke. I dropped a painfully obvious The Importance of Being Earnest quote ("Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young?"), picked two random recipes, and got away without doing much research at all. At that point in Paupered Chef history we were getting a negligible number of hits a day. I figured no one would care.
But people did care. It didn't matter that the sandwiches actually were actually fine (they were). They just weren't authentic. Over the years I've been called out by many an indignant Englishman. When I finally looked it up, I realized they were right. An authentic cucumber sandwich contains nothing more than bread, butter, and cucumbers. Mine broke from that holy trinity adding cream cheese and other odd things to bulk them out. Every time I see that post or get a comment I cringe.
So there's no half-assing it this time. I was going to make an absolutely authentic cucumber sandwich using only those three elements, which meant each had to be perfect. I decided to start with the bread.
Though last time I just used plain white sandwich bread, this article from the Guardian Newspaper in London, along with a few other sources, claimed I needed a very specific kind of bread called pain de mie, which is sometimes called a Pullman loaf. Originally I was just going to find a place in Chicago that baked that style of bread. But then I found this recipe on a LTH Forum and became a little obsessed with making it myself. The only problem was that I needed a very specific kind of loaf pan. It was a 4" x 4" x 13" pan that had a lid that slid on top. It would produce a rectangular loaf with a very small crust.
If I was going to atone for my past cucumber sandwich sins, I had to buy it. That explains what I was doing under the L tracks.
Though I never got the nerve up to call that man on the West Side, I did finally find the pan on Amazon. A few days later I had my pan and no more excuses.
Though Blake has ventured bravely into the bread making world, I'm still an absolute novice. So I was utterly surprised at how simple this turned out to be. The whole process lasted about 3 hours and the results were wonderful. The bread is slightly sweet, with an almost creamy interior. The crumb is fine and strangely addicting. This makes one killer piece of toast.
I have the bread. Now all I need are cucumbers and butter, two ingredients that should be easy to track down but are giving me nightmares. Who knew it would be so hard to find English butter? Check back later this week to see the finished product.
Pain de Mie (Pullman Loaf)
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup water
- 1.15 ounces (about 2 1/3 tablespoons) sugar
- 1/2 ounce (about 1 1/3 tablespoons) dry yeast
- 27 ounces flour
- .85 ounces (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) salt
- 2.6 ounces (about 6 tablespoons) soft butter
Pour the milk and water into a small pot. Turn the heat to medium-low and slowly bring the temperature up to 100 degrees. Turn off the heat and add the sugar. Stir until disolved.
Pour the liquid into a medium-sized bowl and stir in the yeast. Let the mixture proof for ten minutes.
It should look like this when it is done.
Meanwhile, combine the four and salt in stand mixer. Use the dough hook to quickly mix the two.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix carefully on low until incorporated. Then add the butter.
Increase the speed to medium and let the stand mixer knead for 10 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a ball, and place in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for an hour.
In an hour it should double in size.
Butter your pain de mie loaf pan.
Punch down the dough, and then transfer to a the loaf pan. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise until it comes to the top of the pan.
It took me about 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Slide the top on of the pan on. Place loaf pan in the oven and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
(Check out Part Two of My Cucumber Sandwich Revenge for the sandwich recipe)
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I love this. And I’m seriously coveting that pan.
Oh man. I might have to try making that bread, even though I’m terrified of bread-making, because of all the American foods my English husband has ruined for me (have you TRIED their bacon? yum), a good slice of proper toast is at the very top. Our sliced loaves at the store just don’t compare.
P.S., thoughts on doing this without a stand mixer?
This is great! I can’t wait to see what comes next.
I’ve never made a cucumber sandwich with cream cheese, either, and I’m no brit. Just [unsalted] butter, mayo, cukes (having been salted & drained) & regular old sammich bread. Yum! In fact, I think you’ve inspired my lunch for today. Merci!
Your pain de mie looks scrumptious!
Uh… it’s Williams-Sonoma. Founded by Chuck Williams in Sonoma, CA, in the 1950s.
Miss T: It is an interesting addition to my kitchen. I might never need to buy white bread again.
Krissa: I think a mixer could work to combine all the ingredients. But then you’ll have to knead the dough by hand. Just mix until everything is roughly combined and then have at it with your hands. It’s just a lot easier to set the machine up to do the hard work for you.
Amanda: Hope you enjoy your lunch!
Cory: It has been updated. Thanks for pointing that out.
I bought that pan at a restaurant supply store ( Schweppes 376 W. North Avenue Lombard, IL. http://www.schweppeinc.com. I thought it was a terrine pan, but I have not used it yet.
If you have not been there and live in the Chicagoland area, Schweppes is worth the trip. I have no affiliation with the store, but have gotten great deals on tons of stuff.
I recognise it as a sandwich loaf available at every bakers in England.
The crusts must be cut off and the sandwich cut into triangles.
Lurpak butter is fine. The butter is to prevent the water leaking from the cues into the bread and to add richness. You will need salt and I like white pepper.
Serve slightly chilled to warm up as you eat your your afternoon tea in the sunny garden. Don’t eat too much as you need to save space for the cakes and the scones served with jam and clotted cream.
How different is this from Japanese shoku-pan? The pan is the same type.
One nitpick: that Amco pullman loaf pan is 4×4x13 inches, not 16 inches, assuming that’s the same one you linked to and the same one I have.
As far as I know 13″ is the standard length for these things. They’re great for making German-style pumpernickel and the like, though that’s quite a bit more adventurous than pan de mie
leja: Wow, thanks for sharing that with me. That sounds like exactly the place I need to visit.
Paul McKenna: Thanks for the tips!
Yuki: This is the first time I’ve heard about shoku-pan. It could be. From searching around it looks kind of similar.
anonymous: fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.
Beautiful bread. I think MPS and I should venture into the world of bread-making (aside from chapatis).
On a side note: it’s comforting to know that at least someone else in our little Albany world has that same darn stove, although your cabinets and countertops are nicer than ours.
I love Pan de Miei, and it was a great excuse to finally get The Pullman Pan.
We find that this bread gets eaten VERY QUICKLY at our house.
I’m agreed on the quality of the bread for toast, and it can so easily be sliced very thinly. Perfect for your little sandwich occasions.
How wonderful… just a quick note from an Englishwoman abroad (in Scotland), who has been lucky enough to take tea at The Ritz (and Claridges, which is much better). The bread should be from a milk loaf (a sandwich loaf isn’t the same thing, I’m afraid), the butter should be unsalted (Windmill is best, Lurpak next but never ever Anchor) and the cucumbers fresh, crisp and peeled.
Oh – and a cucumber sandwich is always cut into fingers. Smoked salmon sandwiches (or fish paste) are cut into triangles.
Fantastic! I love baking bread, it’s not so hard just remember the ratios.
I think I’ll bake a loaf this afternoon…
Wow – you’re living the myth
Having been mostly English for 35 years I’ve never been exposed to the cucumber sandwich! But then I was born after the Raj and into the world of the NHS
For more democratic English sarnie experience why not take a look at the ploughmans or, better still, the staple foundation of this post-empire, cynical and nostalgic Island – the bacon sarnie. This should still be a challenge, sandwich loaf, real chedder cheese is and non incinerated bacon
Ah, dear Tommu – I’m afraid that I don’t live the myth – I just pop on my best frock and visit it occasionally. You should try it some time – it’s very calming and quite therapeutic.
I too adore the old Bacon Buttie (but so difficult to get decent bacon these days) – but I think that you could have been clearer with your instructions: you don’t want people putting hunks of slowly matured Cheddar into the bacon sandwich, no?
(btw you are a wag: I wasn’t born into the Raj – but my dear late father-in-law was. The tales he told…!)
King Arthur Flour sells one of those pans too. Great. One more thing for me to become obsessed with too…
Hah! I have two of those pans and never knew why on earth they have a top. In a reversal of your search, I got them in a Parisian cooking supply store when I was looking for a proper loaf pan. The proportions are just slightly wrong for a normal loaf of bread and now I know why! You’ve solved a mystery and supplied me with the recipe to use it properly – thanks!
Gorgeous! I found a great deal on a Pain de Mie pan through Bridge Kitchenware, too — Chicago Metallic, great price. I love it.
The butter part is easy. Gourmet butter is only fresher than regular butter. Take some whipping cream and add a tbls or two of cultured buttermilk to it. Let it sit in the oven (off) overnight. Take the now slightly sour cream and beat it senseless in the food processor until it turns into butter. Rinse with ice water until it rinses clear. That’s it. The best, freshest, “gourmet” butter ever. And if you’re impatient you can just make it from the whipping cream.
I need to find that pan. Very nice loaf you made there.
Howard
Sur La Table does carry a Pain de Mie pan. It is listed on http://www.surlatable.com as a Pullman pan.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/pain-de-mie-pan-with-lid
Love them!
Yeah if you ever have a tea-just serve up cucumber sandwhiches with the crusts cut off and you will slay them. So easy. So delish.
Oh and don’t forget the bread and butter sandwiches: “I’m positively devoted to bread and butter.”
My UK-born and raised husband makes a sugar sandwhich every once in a while. Good quality white sandwhich bread (If you are near Minneapolis New French makes a great one) with thick layer of butter and white sugar sprinkled lightly over it. His Scottish grandparents used to make it for him as an after school snack.
And oh yeah, their bacon sandwiches are the bomb. I’ve gotta stop. It’s lunch time!
Don’t you realize how much trouble you are getting yourself in by pursuing an ‘authentic’ version of an English cucumber sandwich? If there is anything in the world about which people cannot agree it is authenticity, especially with regards to food.
Perhaps this should be the first law of food blogging: “for any post involving claims of ‘authenticity’, the probability of unending corrections in the comments is 1.”
I mean, you bought a Pullman pan (jealous!) to make your own bread and already someone jumps to tell you that a sandwich loaf doesn’t cut it! Oy!