Hi Karl, it sounds like you may be letting the dough rise a bit too long or at too warm of a rising temperature before baking. While it's not unusual for sandwich loaves to look a little more compact towards the bottom of the loaf, allowing the bread too rise too long or at too warm of a rising temperature will make this more likely to occur, and may even contribute to a gummy texture, as you've described. I'm guessing you're seeing this around the perimeter of your loaf because the pain de mie pan is more likely to compact not only on the bottom, but all around the edges of the loaf because the rise is enclosed. This may be related both to too much pressure around the edges, combined with dough deterioration due to over-fermentation. I would check out our blog post on Desired Dough Temperature to help you regulate your rise a bit more carefully, and try putting the bread in the oven when it hasn't risen quite so high in the pan. 

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