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Pulled Bread
Take the crust off a newly baked loaf while it is still warm. Pull it lightly and quickly with the fingers of both hands into rough pieces, and bake these in a slow oven until they are lightly browned and crisp.
A one-ingredient recipe that depends entirely on timing: the loaf must still be warm enough that the crumb tears rather than crumbles.
- Slow ovenRead "slow oven" as roughly 250-300F (120-150C). Anything hotter browns the ragged tips before the interior has dried, so the edges scorch while the middle stays soft.
- TimingThe original gives none. Expect 20 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the pieces, turning once. They are done when a piece snaps cleanly rather than bending.
- The loaf mattersA plain white or milk loaf with an open, springy crumb pulls into the shaggy shapes that give this its character. Dense wholemeal and enriched sandwich bread tear into blunt lumps.
- Warm, not hotStraight from the oven the crumb is gummy and will compress under the fingers. Let the loaf sit 15 to 20 minutes so it is warm through but no longer steaming, then pull it.
- Pull, never cutThe whole point is the torn surface: irregular peaks and hollows crisp unevenly and give the texture a knife cannot produce. Use the fingers of both hands and work in thumb-sized to walnut-sized pieces.
- Serving and yieldOne standard loaf gives enough for six to eight people. Commonly sent to table with clear soup or at the cheese course.
- KeepingCool completely on a rack before storing, or trapped steam will soften them. Airtight, they hold for several days and refresh in a 300F oven for five minutes.
Pulled bread was a standard of Victorian and Edwardian service, appearing in household manuals as an accompaniment to soup and to the cheese course, and it still turns up occasionally on British menus. The technique belongs to the same family as rusks, zwieback and Melba toast, all of which drive off moisture at low heat so bread keeps and snaps instead of staling into leather.