Cracked Black Pepper Pain De Mie
I watched a “Master Class” (from the app masterclass, not being paid by them or anything) on bread given by Apollonia Poilâne. She has an amazing way of working with dough. She uses her senses more than anything else to bake, which I think has always been my goal. Baking takes practice, it’s not only about the science behind it, it’s about using your previous knowledge to determine if you need a bit more water or a bit more flour, more or less rising time, a cold proof or a counter top proof. This is a great recipe to start with if you’re just starting out baking bread, and it’s a great recipe to make if you’re a pro because of it’s unique flavor given by the freshly ground black pepper. The recipe is from King Arthur Baking Co., one of my go to sites for bread recipes. I adapted it by using cracked black pepper, which was something I learned from Apollonia Poilâne. It gives the bread an amazing flavor, which paired with some butter is out of this world.
Recipe Resource: King Arthur Baking Co.
Inspiration from Apollonia Poilâne
Adapted by adding the black pepper and changing the mixing instructions by Tierney Larson
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups (390g) All Purpose Flour
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp (9g) Kosher Salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, grind it into a bowl and measure
1/4 cup (28g) of non fat dry milk powder (or you can use 1/4 cup of slightly warmed whole milk)
1 tbl (32g) honey or agave
7/8 cup-1 cup (198g-227g) of lukewarm water-during dry weather use the larger amount of water, during humid weather use the lesser amount
2 tbl (28g) room temperature butter, cut into 4 pieces
Ok so…
Grease a 9x4 loaf pan, or pain de mie tin with neutral oil
Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, black pepper and dry milk powder (if using, if using milk hold off for a sec) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the milk (if using) and honey, then turn on the stand mixer to low and stream in about 3/4 of the water. Let it mix on low for about 1 minute, if it looks like there are still lots of dry bits of flour, add the rest of the water. The dough will be a little sticky that’s ok. Scrape down the bowl and hook and continue to mix on low.
When the dough comes together, put the mixer up to medium-low and add the butter one piece at a time, giving it a minute to fully incorporate until adding the next piece. The dough should feel elastic and bouncy when ready for the next step. When the lift up the dough hook, it should have a slight resistance before breaking. If it breaks right away and feels really loose, knead it further for a minute or 2.
Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover. Let it rise for 60-90 minutes. It will get puffy but not necessarily double.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Place your greased loaf pan or pain de mie tin horizontally in front of you so you can see how long your loaf needs to be. Press gently into a rough rectangle about the length of your tin. Fold the top 2 corners of the rectangle slightly in, then fold the top over and press the top into the center with your fingertips. Repeat by tucking in the next 2 corners and then folding over, until you have it rolled up. With the heel of your hand, press the seam of the loaf together to seal. Then place in the tin seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for a further 60 minutes until the dough has reached about 1/2 inch from the top of the tin. Preheat your oven to 350F about half way through the rising time.
Remove the plastic wrap and (if you’re using the pain de mie tin) slide the lightly greased top onto the pan. Place in the oven on the center rack and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the top is a rich golden brown color. The inside of the bread should register 195F-200F when done. Remove from the oven and immediately tip the bread out of the tin onto a cooling rack to cool fully before enjoying.
