Well, I'd love to say I'm happy with this bread, but after one almost successful (the first time with 4 near fully raised corners) loaf and 2 completely unsuccessful attempts (short sides about 1" lower than the top edge), I'm ready to throw in the towel. All my ingredients are fresh, yeast is active, all ingredients are weighed (gram weights) on a calibrated scale and I followed the directions exactly. I've tried mixing ingredients with the paddle and then kneading with a KitchenAid Pro 600 dough hook for 7 minutes (first loaf). Fairly happy with the results but wanting success, I tried again yesterday, but this time kneaded just a bit less and although the center of the loaf rose to 1/2" below the top of the pan, the sides were only a fraction higher than half way up the pan. Since I was determined to achieve success, I tried again this morning, this time kneading the old fashioned way - 10 minutes by hand. The first rise was lovely in the 2 qt. bucket, but once in the pan and after the rise for an hour, the sides only rose about slightly above the half way point. The center rose to 1/2" from the top edge. Before I even put the loaf in the oven, I talked to someone at the Baker's Hot Line, who suggested putting the lid on the pan and letting it set for 20 additional minutes and then put it in the oven to bake. I did this and after the 25 minutes, took the lid off to find that the sides never rose any further than they were before.

Since I have successfully baked more than a couple hundred loaves of bread in the last 40 years, it's impossible for me to understand why I can't be successful now with a 9" loaf of pain de mie! Good thing I can use these 2 loaves of bread toasted in the oven and pulverized for bread crumbs :)

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