5 ms·

I have to say that I was extremely disappointed to see the nicely seared steak tartare and microplaned truffle dish sharing the plate with a sad looking piece o

by jspash 5y ago

I have to say that I was extremely disappointed to see the nicely seared steak tartare and microplaned truffle dish sharing the plate with a sad looking piece of "artisan hand-decrusted Wonder Bread™" I remember reading about a baker in California who finally found the secret to a making proper French baguette. But it required something silly like shipping water from France. Here in the UK they still having cracked it.

DocTomoe 5y ago
Having an artisian breadmaker tradition helps. Over here in Germany, you can have all kinds of baguette-analogues (and some actual baguettes) virtually anywhere, no magic French dihydrogenmonoxide needed. Try it for yourself: Baking bread is easy (and many have taken up the process as a hobby during the pandemic). Youtube is a great teacher of these things.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  Depressing but true: Dutch supermarket croissants are better than any of the ones I ever ate in France.
  - rStar 5y ago
  - hanwenn 5y ago
    Most croissants are factory-made these days, frozen and then baked off on location, both for supermarkets and bakeries (also many French bakeries). Keuringsdienst van Waarde had a good episode on it, https://www.npo3.nl/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/05-09-2019/KN_1709859 https://www.npo3.nl/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/05-09-2019/KN_...
RealityVoid 5y ago
I used to not like bread. I then lived in the us for 3 months and by god, the bread there was atrocious. Now I love bread. We have a lot of good bakeries around and I just love getting a warm crusty bread and chowing on it. I also don't get what the US fascination with decrusting is. The crust is one of the most tastiest parts. I can not for the life of me imagine how you might need water from France for baguettes. I think the limitation in the US is not the water, but the public preference and the way bread is marketed.
- timeon 5y ago
  Problem is also that there is no specific word for bread in English language. As example the thing you use for sandwich is not bread In my native language.
- gambiting 5y ago
  It's the same in UK - all bread is just this horrendous toast bread, really awful stuff. You can find some sourdough in few supermarkets, but it's like made by someone who saw a bread loaf once on a poorly photocopied photo 20 years ago - usually very flat, not risen properly, and tiny! On a chance if you find a local bakery that does actually make proper bread, I can guarantee it will be like £5 a loaf because it's "artisinal hand made with love and attention" nonsense - it's just bread people!!!!
  - eyko 5y ago
    Don't buy your bread from a supermarket (in fact, buy as little as you can from a supermarket). I can't speak for the entire UK, but in London and south east in general (essex, kent), you can find very good sourdough. The UK also has some very good mills and we're spoilt for flour (if you bake at home).
    - gambiting 5y ago
      I'm in the north east, and not even in a major city, so the selection is very limited. Like, I could drive 15 minutes to the nearest "local" bakery but then like I said, anything that isn't just your normal toast bread is stupid money per loaf because it's "artisinal". >>The UK also has some very good mills and we're spoilt for flour That's interesting, because I find the exact opposite - not in terms of quality of course, but in terms of variety. I find that usually you only have your normal plain, then self-raising, then maybe two types of wholemeal....and that's it. In Poland where I'm from you'd get at least 10 different types of normal white flour in every store, based on how finely they are ground and how pure they are(denoted as "type" from 450 to 2000), and then you have flour from Poznan, from Warsaw, from Wroclaw etc etc - all found in normal stores. In UK it's just "plain". Tesco's own brand or maybe one other "named" brand.
Fiahil 5y ago
I make bread at home, it's not a complicated recipe. I'm pretty sure they could do it in California as well, but it's unlikely they will like it (something about being "too crusty" ?). Anyway, here's a working recipe if anyone wants to try it : https://www.lesfousdeterroirs.fr/nos-recettes/pain-maison https://www.lesfousdeterroirs.fr/nos-recettes/pain-maison
- playworker 5y ago
  I'm fairly sure that they do do it in California, San Francisco Sourdough is a whole bread style, they have world-famous bakeries and the crust definitely isn't an issue https://tartinebakery.com/ https://tartinebakery.com/
pluies 5y ago
Agreed that the bread in the photo looked very sad! I don't agree with your comment about UK baguettes though. In London at least, you can get very good baguettes from Orée, le Pain Quotidien, (to an extent) Paul, and a bunch of small local bakeries here and there. As a Frenchman, I find these to be just as good as what you'd get in any French bakery.

by jspash 5y ago

DocTomoe 5y ago

Having an artisian breadmaker tradition helps. Over here in Germany, you can have all kinds of baguette-analogues (and some actual baguettes) virtually anywhere, no magic French dihydrogenmonoxide needed. Try it for yourself: Baking bread is easy (and many have taken up the process as a hobby during the pandemic). Youtube is a great teacher of these things.

jacquesm 5y ago
Depressing but true: Dutch supermarket croissants are better than any of the ones I ever ate in France.
- rStar 5y ago
- hanwenn 5y ago
  Most croissants are factory-made these days, frozen and then baked off on location, both for supermarkets and bakeries (also many French bakeries). Keuringsdienst van Waarde had a good episode on it, https://www.npo3.nl/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/05-09-2019/KN_1709859 https://www.npo3.nl/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/05-09-2019/KN_...

RealityVoid 5y ago

I used to not like bread. I then lived in the us for 3 months and by god, the bread there was atrocious. Now I love bread. We have a lot of good bakeries around and I just love getting a warm crusty bread and chowing on it. I also don't get what the US fascination with decrusting is. The crust is one of the most tastiest parts. I can not for the life of me imagine how you might need water from France for baguettes. I think the limitation in the US is not the water, but the public preference and the way bread is marketed.

timeon 5y ago
Problem is also that there is no specific word for bread in English language. As example the thing you use for sandwich is not bread In my native language.
gambiting 5y ago
It's the same in UK - all bread is just this horrendous toast bread, really awful stuff. You can find some sourdough in few supermarkets, but it's like made by someone who saw a bread loaf once on a poorly photocopied photo 20 years ago - usually very flat, not risen properly, and tiny! On a chance if you find a local bakery that does actually make proper bread, I can guarantee it will be like £5 a loaf because it's "artisinal hand made with love and attention" nonsense - it's just bread people!!!!
- eyko 5y ago
  Don't buy your bread from a supermarket (in fact, buy as little as you can from a supermarket). I can't speak for the entire UK, but in London and south east in general (essex, kent), you can find very good sourdough. The UK also has some very good mills and we're spoilt for flour (if you bake at home).
  - gambiting 5y ago
    I'm in the north east, and not even in a major city, so the selection is very limited. Like, I could drive 15 minutes to the nearest "local" bakery but then like I said, anything that isn't just your normal toast bread is stupid money per loaf because it's "artisinal". >>The UK also has some very good mills and we're spoilt for flour That's interesting, because I find the exact opposite - not in terms of quality of course, but in terms of variety. I find that usually you only have your normal plain, then self-raising, then maybe two types of wholemeal....and that's it. In Poland where I'm from you'd get at least 10 different types of normal white flour in every store, based on how finely they are ground and how pure they are(denoted as "type" from 450 to 2000), and then you have flour from Poznan, from Warsaw, from Wroclaw etc etc - all found in normal stores. In UK it's just "plain". Tesco's own brand or maybe one other "named" brand.

Fiahil 5y ago

I make bread at home, it's not a complicated recipe. I'm pretty sure they could do it in California as well, but it's unlikely they will like it (something about being "too crusty" ?). Anyway, here's a working recipe if anyone wants to try it : https://www.lesfousdeterroirs.fr/nos-recettes/pain-maison https://www.lesfousdeterroirs.fr/nos-recettes/pain-maison

playworker 5y ago
I'm fairly sure that they do do it in California, San Francisco Sourdough is a whole bread style, they have world-famous bakeries and the crust definitely isn't an issue https://tartinebakery.com/ https://tartinebakery.com/

pluies 5y ago

Agreed that the bread in the photo looked very sad! I don't agree with your comment about UK baguettes though. In London at least, you can get very good baguettes from Orée, le Pain Quotidien, (to an extent) Paul, and a bunch of small local bakeries here and there. As a Frenchman, I find these to be just as good as what you'd get in any French bakery.