7 ms·

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

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.
    - eyko 5y ago
      > 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) Okay that's impressive. I buy my flour from Shipton Mill online[1] because, as you noted, supermarkets only carry commercial flour with very little variety, if any. Worse even, you don't get much information on the packaging about how coarse/fine it is, many times. Side note: I'm also not originally from the UK and had also noticed the lack of bakeries, or specialist shops here. Even smaller towns have your typical Tesco/Sainsbury and few if any local baker, butcher, etc. Where I'm from, a neighbourhood without a butcher, bakery, fishmonger, etc would be considered a bit strange. I don't know why but it seems like the assassination of British culture is almost complete. I don't know if it was consumers that drove it or if the big supermarkets imposed it. They've made the local merchant almost extinct. And don't get me started on food culture (most brits I know don't regularly prepare their own meals, and when they do, they're rarely traditional home cooking outside of the typical sunday roast with the family, or christmas dinner. It's a sad loss in a way. 1. https://www.shipton-mill.com/flour-direct-shop/flour/organic-flour https://www.shipton-mill.com/flour-direct-shop/flour/organic...
bratwurst3000 5y ago
Decrusting… I as a frenchman am digusted by this idea. The good thing about the baguette is that it is nearly only crust. I am traumatized by this „decrusting“ And as a bakery enthuisiast that baked in many european countries it is the quality of the flour in my opinion. For every country i visited it were different results but the same recipe. The french have a way „finer“ flour
- saganus 5y ago
  Finer flour in the sense of finely ground, or in the sense of higer quality? I suspect it's the latter but am curious. Also, what would make flour be of higher quality?
  - bratwurst3000 5y ago
    I meant finely ground. But as I wrote those words I was thinking a bit and it is maybe also the quality…. But I have a third idea what it could be. The way it is ground. For example some milling would generate heat and therefore manipulate the structur of the protein(gluten). And this structur is what makes bread….. Did some search and found this … if someone who reads this want to do a deeep dive, Please let me know the results, thanks https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-regular-and-stone-ground-flour-227355 https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-regul... Edit: in europe we have numbers for the flour and they have a relativ to their number a certain amount of minerals. But most european countries are have their own system. But they are mostly comparable Edit2: did a little search and the waterfree mass of baguette flour should have 0,52-0,62% of minerals. Thats calles t55 to t65 flour. But even then those flour have different proportion of gluten … and worse gluten aint the same everywhere. As I said the milling could affect it but also the kins of wheat and how it is grown…. You see a deep dive into the world of french baguette could be hard… I am happy with beeing often in france and getting the stuff I need there.( I live in germany) … btw same problem with ground almond .. french stuff works perfekt, german stuff not… but for almonds i am sure it is how fine it is ground… because now I ground them myself and it works. Hope it wasnt tooooo much text and i could help :)
    - 5y ago
HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
> I think the limitation in the US is not the water, but the public preference Exactly correct. Most of us grow up eating cheap, crappy bread and simply continue the habit. There is plenty of really good bread out there but most people are content with the mass produced supermarket fluff. A lot of the "European mystification" about US eating habits boil down to the fact that we have a lot of really cheap food available. Given a choice, most people choose cheap over good for daily usage.
- jaclaz 5y ago
  >A lot of the "European mystification" about US eating habits boil down to the fact that we have a lot of really cheap food available. Given a choice, most people choose cheap over good for daily usage. I think there is - as always - some truth behind what you call "European mystification", or at least the US people coming here (Italy) wouldn't be going "Wow" (like they almost invariably do) when entering a good (but common enough) bakery shop or at the restaurant (or even when eating a "real" pizza). Or maybe they are only very kind, in order to compliment us, but anyway they generally give the impression they never ate some "good" food.
  - rblatz 5y ago
    Probably because most of those people never go to a good bakery or pizza place at home.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
      I think this is exactly what it is.

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.
  - eyko 5y ago
    > 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) Okay that's impressive. I buy my flour from Shipton Mill online[1] because, as you noted, supermarkets only carry commercial flour with very little variety, if any. Worse even, you don't get much information on the packaging about how coarse/fine it is, many times. Side note: I'm also not originally from the UK and had also noticed the lack of bakeries, or specialist shops here. Even smaller towns have your typical Tesco/Sainsbury and few if any local baker, butcher, etc. Where I'm from, a neighbourhood without a butcher, bakery, fishmonger, etc would be considered a bit strange. I don't know why but it seems like the assassination of British culture is almost complete. I don't know if it was consumers that drove it or if the big supermarkets imposed it. They've made the local merchant almost extinct. And don't get me started on food culture (most brits I know don't regularly prepare their own meals, and when they do, they're rarely traditional home cooking outside of the typical sunday roast with the family, or christmas dinner. It's a sad loss in a way. 1. https://www.shipton-mill.com/flour-direct-shop/flour/organic-flour https://www.shipton-mill.com/flour-direct-shop/flour/organic...

bratwurst3000 5y ago

Decrusting… I as a frenchman am digusted by this idea. The good thing about the baguette is that it is nearly only crust. I am traumatized by this „decrusting“ And as a bakery enthuisiast that baked in many european countries it is the quality of the flour in my opinion. For every country i visited it were different results but the same recipe. The french have a way „finer“ flour

saganus 5y ago
Finer flour in the sense of finely ground, or in the sense of higer quality? I suspect it's the latter but am curious. Also, what would make flour be of higher quality?
- bratwurst3000 5y ago
  I meant finely ground. But as I wrote those words I was thinking a bit and it is maybe also the quality…. But I have a third idea what it could be. The way it is ground. For example some milling would generate heat and therefore manipulate the structur of the protein(gluten). And this structur is what makes bread….. Did some search and found this … if someone who reads this want to do a deeep dive, Please let me know the results, thanks https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-regular-and-stone-ground-flour-227355 https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-regul... Edit: in europe we have numbers for the flour and they have a relativ to their number a certain amount of minerals. But most european countries are have their own system. But they are mostly comparable Edit2: did a little search and the waterfree mass of baguette flour should have 0,52-0,62% of minerals. Thats calles t55 to t65 flour. But even then those flour have different proportion of gluten … and worse gluten aint the same everywhere. As I said the milling could affect it but also the kins of wheat and how it is grown…. You see a deep dive into the world of french baguette could be hard… I am happy with beeing often in france and getting the stuff I need there.( I live in germany) … btw same problem with ground almond .. french stuff works perfekt, german stuff not… but for almonds i am sure it is how fine it is ground… because now I ground them myself and it works. Hope it wasnt tooooo much text and i could help :)
  - 5y ago

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

> I think the limitation in the US is not the water, but the public preference Exactly correct. Most of us grow up eating cheap, crappy bread and simply continue the habit. There is plenty of really good bread out there but most people are content with the mass produced supermarket fluff. A lot of the "European mystification" about US eating habits boil down to the fact that we have a lot of really cheap food available. Given a choice, most people choose cheap over good for daily usage.

jaclaz 5y ago
>A lot of the "European mystification" about US eating habits boil down to the fact that we have a lot of really cheap food available. Given a choice, most people choose cheap over good for daily usage. I think there is - as always - some truth behind what you call "European mystification", or at least the US people coming here (Italy) wouldn't be going "Wow" (like they almost invariably do) when entering a good (but common enough) bakery shop or at the restaurant (or even when eating a "real" pizza). Or maybe they are only very kind, in order to compliment us, but anyway they generally give the impression they never ate some "good" food.
- rblatz 5y ago
  Probably because most of those people never go to a good bakery or pizza place at home.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
    I think this is exactly what it is.