Anyone who's looked at my travel pictures over the years will have noticed a lot of pictures of bread and bakeries. I've been accused of being mad about bread, and I don't deny it. But I've been trumped by Alex Croquet, a bread artisan in Lille, France, who even calls his store Mad About Bread: Fou de Pain.
Lille wasn't on our original day-trip schedule during a month in France, but when we found ourselves there, my wife immediately began researching food, and told me she had found my dream...and we followed it.
I should probably start with a reminder that 'baguette' and 'French bread' aren't the same thing; it's only one kind of French bread, and a relative newcomer at that. French breads can be long, they can be round, square, light, heavy, fine-crumbed or coarse, but generally with a rich and yeasty flavor that comes from simple ingredients.
An assortment of loaves at Au Pain d'Antan, in Paris
Some of the breads even have legal restrictions on what can go into them. The 'baguette tradition,' for instance, can contain only flour, water, yeast and salt. The category was created to set it apart from factory-made breads that had additives to extend shelf life. A 'baguette tradition' is always made on-premises.
At Alex Croquet, we found such an assortment of baguettes and other breads and lovely aromas that it was breathtaking. Intoxicating. Habit forming. We walked out with two pastries and two breads; within a couple of hours we had returned for more bread. Not all eaten on the spot; some was carried home to Paris.
Not all the breads are as simple as a 'baguette tradition' of course. There are breads with sweet glazes. Breads with olives or prosciutto included. Whole-grain breads (pain complet), both wheat and other grains, such as rye. Sourdough (pain au levain) and breads, often multi-grain, with seeds in and on (pain aux cereales).
Although there are breads that are soft (but not squishy) to the feel, I love the tough and crunchy crust of many of the best—although the devotion is not always returned. I got a significant cut to my finger from the sharp edge of a wonderfully crusty bread from Croquet. Worth it, though!
Of course, while Alex Croquet's store was a wonderful experience and now memory, it's not unique. While it's possible to read year after year about the loss of genuine local bakeries in France, and especially in small towns, in Paris, Strasbourg and other cities, they seem still thick on the ground, fortunately. The Clignancourt neighborhood in Paris, where we usually rent, has several outstanding ones, including Pain d'Antan, featured here earlier.
And, of course, there are many more specialties and regional variations to think about, such as this collection of spice and gingerbreads at a market in Strasbourg, and the regionally popular bread pretzels. There are also regional variations of many of the breads, including baguettes. Alex Croquet offers a 'baguette lilloise,' for example.
And some newcomers: At Boulangerie Rose, in Vernon, you can buy black baguettes. Charcoal black on the outside, charcoal black on the inside. And charcoal is the reason; they're made with activated charcoal, which is said to have health benefits. I won't argue that, but it was a delicious crusty baguette—and got quite a few stares as I carried it. Makes interesting-looking sandwiches if you've a mind for that!
In a way, it's appropriate for new ideas about baguettes, since, as I mentioned above, they're pretty much a new idea themselves. Long breads have a long history in France, but what makes a baguette a baguette is the use of a steam-infused oven.
The oven, often brick or stone-lined is heated to about 400° and then, while the bread is baking, steam is infused into the oven. It allows the crust to expand and then settle, and melts the dextrose in the wheat on the surface to form the glazed appearance. It also makes the baking quite fast.
The steam oven was introduced to France in the 1830's by August Zang, an Austrian officer in exile who opened a Viennese bakery and introduced such Viennese delights as the Kaiser roll and the kipfel (which the French renamed 'croissant.' Zang returned to Austria and made a fortune in publishing and banking, but the steam process remained.
In 1920, a French law prohibited bakers from working between 10 pm and 4 am, which meant that there wasn't time to make more traditional breads in time for breakfast. Within a short time, the steam oven and what only then began to be called a baguette became the norm—and to most of the world, the only French bread.
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