French bread

What makes it French? I have asked this in a UK food group, but I
thought that I might get a better understanding from this ng. Being as
it encompasses a lot more French folk and without me having to write in
French.

What qualities should I be looking for in the bread?

Dave

"Dave" wrote


Well, I'm not French but here's what I expect. A crusty bread, deep crust,
light on the inside. Somewhat chewy but not a jawbreaker.

Contrast to italian, deep crust but not a 'crunchy crust'. More chewy,
smaller holes but more of them.

Dave <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in
news:[Only registered users can see links. ]:

in

Might also ask what's so "English" about an "English muffin?"

What most people are talking about when they say "French bread" is
probably the French baguette, a long, fairly thin, loaf with a high
percentage of crust over crumb. Rumor has it that up until recently the
baguette was a mass-produced good of not very good quality, at least
when compared with some of the better artisanal breads available in
France. The baguette was a bread of the moment, meant to be eaten
quickly, not kept around.

Of course, calling one specific type of bread French bread, in this case
the baguette, is to ignore the hundreds of other great breads made in
France.

What makes it French is that it is baked in France, or at least the
inspiration for the shape and formulation probably arose in France as a
response to a desire for more crust and less crumb. At least that's
what I've read in my books. There are several variations of the
baguette in Italy, mostly with higher hydrations, which seems to be
typical of Italian breads vis-a-vis French breads. (This is my
observation, not backed up with any scientific analysis.)

Someone else may have a better answer.

Barry

cshenk wrote:

OK I am getting a feel of what it should be.

Dave

Barry Harmon wrote:

I think we have first to define what we think an English muffin is. An
American muffin is something totally different.

Is French bread that so much different?


I have been told that they are baked twice a day, so as to ensure they
are fresh.



This is my problem. Because of my job history, I have not considered
buying anything French for many years.

Point noted, you could be right here.


Dave

Dave <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in
news:[Only registered users can see links. ]:


The Italians make a baguette called a sfilatino (I think that's the way to
describe it, I don't know if that's singular, plural or whatever.) that's a
French baguette with a lot of water. From all my reading and
experimentation, the sfilatino is what the French would make if they didn't
have to admit it was an Italian bread.

The recipe I have is in Franco galli's book "The Il Fornaio Baking Book."

Here's the lead in.

"The true baguette, of course, was born in France, just prior to World War
I, when the citizenry demanded an alternative to the standard round and
rectangular loaves of the day. The French wanted more crust and less mie,
which is what they call a bread's interior in France. (the mollica, in
Italian.) The baguette was the baker's solution. The sfilatino came about
for the same reason -- consumer demand. Italians developed a taste for the
French baguette, and Italian bakers, who always love a challenge, set out
the better it."

I have two recipes for it on my site, one the way Galli presents it and one
my modification, toned down a bit.

Galli's
[Only registered users can see links. ]
m

My rework
[Only registered users can see links. ]
ied.htm

This is a case of take your choice -- French (60-62%) or Italian (70-80%).

Barry

"cshenk" <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:QGSqm.23012$[Only registered users can see links. ]...

More to the specifics, French bread contains flour, water, salt and yeast.
As a baguette, its shape makes for a high crust to crumb ratio which gives
it it's distinctive pile of crumbs on the table. But as has been said,
French bread can be many things, including rustic breads, such as Poilane.

The key point to note, if we are speaking of the most common of French
breads, the baguette, it contains no oils or milk.

To overcome the rapid drying out of the baguette, substitute a sourdough
starter in lieu of yeast. In fact, that, along with organic flours and
filtered water, has taken the ubiquitous baguette to a new level of taste.

The other, really neat thing about a baguette is that it is easy to carry
home from the boulangerie in one hand, with only a tissue of paper in your
hand to keep it clean.

"Dave" <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered users can see links. ]...


A well-known book, "The Breads of France" includes many different named
breads.

Now, whether you choose to call the recipes in this book "French bread," or
"breads of France," you will have to be the decider.


He says in this introduction p. xv:

"Like many Americans, I once though a loaf of French bread meant just one
thing--a baguette, a long golden loaf, with crackly crust and a honeycomb of
irregular holes inside. It has been an adventure to learn that there are
dozens and dozens more French breads - from every part of France--
reflecting the characteristics of their regions and the creativity and
expertise of the boulangers who make them. They range from such highly
regarded breads as pain brie and pgne de Romans, who have never moved out of
their native rgions, to thelovely croissant and brioche, which seem to
belong to everyoone."

HTH,
Dee Dee

"Barry Harmon" wrote


LOL! Probably true too!


Unfortunately, neither link works just now.

Mind posting it? Graham can't follow links well last I seem to recall.

"Dave" wrote


I never thought about that. Could well be our American version of 'English
Muffin' doesnt exist over that side of the pond?


Yup. Either way, it's a nice little variation on a theme of good bread
making.