The History and Art of French Patisserie and Bread Baking

Today was the final day of my A-term and I was very sad it had to come to an end. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning the traditions and cultural importance of each of these pastries, and of course also getting to taste them all.  To close out this course, I ended with a bread that France has nominated for UNESCO heritage status: The baguette.  The baguette is the embodiment of French bread, a cultural icon. In France more than 25 million baguettes are sold and eaten daily! And they’re not even the biggest consumers. In Algeria close to 50 million baguettes are sold each day, while Morocco, Tunisia, and Vietnam are also baguette superspots. The baguette has literally been immersed into French culture. Inviting someone over for dinner? In France it’s considered rude not to have a fresh baguette to go with the meal. Eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Better run to the nearest bakery to pick up a baguette straight out of the oven. But what makes this bread so popular? And what makes a bague

  Bechamel Finished Soufflé

  Ah, the soufflé, what a classic and luxurious French dessert. Well, full disclaimer, I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a dessert soufflé, but I’m positive I’ve had at least one of the infinite variations to this sweet or savory treat. Soufflé’s are baked dishes made with a base of egg yolk folded with beaten egg whites, which expand in the oven and puff over the edge of the dish. They can be served individually (which is how they are done as desserts) or in a big dish (which is a more common way to find the savory version). After the eggs are whipped and combined with sugar, they are carefully combined into the base mixture, then baked. While baking, the air bubbles from the whipped egg whites expand causing them to poof up, in fact, that is where the name comes from. In French, the verb souffler means to blow or to puff, exactly like the soufflé does in the oven. Although they are quite impressive when done properly, they are a little finicky and will not rise if overmixed, and,

  Joconde sponge Outside of cake (How reflective!) Inside the cake

There’s nothing quite like cutting into a beautiful cake only to be delighted by the elegant and perfected layers inside. That is the experience I attempted to replicate with my Opera Cake today. Also known as a G âteau Opèra, this sponge cake alternates layers of joconde, French buttercream, and dark chocolate ganache. Then to top it all off it is covered in a chocolate glaze to give it a beautiful smooth finish.  This cake was created in 1955 by pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillion, who was employed at the Dalloyau shop in Paris, which to this day is a world renowned pastry shop. The goal of this cake was to create something where the entire cake could be tasted in one bite. The many layers give you this effect by providing a perfectly balanced combination of cream, chocolate and cake. When Gavillions wife saw it, she said it reminded her of the Paris Opera House, most likely because the alternating light and dark layers resemble the look of the balcony seats. Since then the name has stuck

Today it was time for me to attempt my first bread of the course! Unlike many of the other pastries I’ve been baking, bread is a very, very old practice. Bread baking began at least 10,000 years ago, in the form of flatbreads or other hard loaves. Modern bread examples were found in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In Rome, bread was thought of as more important than meat, and all over Europe bread became a very important part of society, and was a big determinant of the class of a person. The quality of bread was decided by its color: if a bread was darker, it was for the lower class, and if it was lighter, it was for the higher class. Why? Because the higher quality the flour, the brighter the bread would be, so the lighter loaves were more expensive. Bread became one of the driving forces behind the French revolution as the lower classes believed they should be able to get the same quality bread and grains as the nobles. There were also bread and grain shortages that led to riots, so overall