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Best Pullman loaf in San Francisco
“Three Pullman loaves occupied the same space as two standard round-topped loaves—efficiency baked into every slice.”
What the real thing tastes like
The Pullman loaf, sometimes called the "sandwich loaf" or "pan bread", is a rectangular loaf of white bread baked in a long, narrow, lidded pan. The French term for this style of loaf is pain de mie, or, less commonly, pain anglais. European breadmakers began using square lidded pans in the early 19th century to minimize crust. Railway service pioneer George Pullman chose the loaf for use on his Pullman railcars for efficiency reasons. Three Pullman loaves occupied the same space as two standard round-topped loaves, thus maximizing the use of space in the small Pullman kitchen.
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The Pullman loaf is a rectangular block of white bread born from pure pragmatism—baked in a long, lidded pan that European bakers developed in the early 1800s to tame the crust. George Pullman adopted it for his railcars not for taste, but because three of these geometric loaves fit where two round-topped loaves would sprawl, a geometry lesson in feeding travelers efficiently. It's the bread that chose space over tradition.
Order it here when it has
- space-efficient design
- crust control
- uniform slicing
- compact storage
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