orbitmic

You knew I would accept before you even asked the question! Sounds like a great challenge to me! That makes me think of a place where I'll take you when we finally manage to catch up in London too (if you like madeleines)!!!

bodory

Spot on San Gottardo !

http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Eu...3-07-11-985113

German bread aims at UNESCO World Heritage List !

bodory

Btw, I find European Y sandwich on KL to be better than J food on AF.

carnarvon

San Gottardo, it depends a lot on which boulangerie you got to, don't you think.

Next to my place, in the countryside, there is a boulangerie that makes the best breads (and croissants, brioches etc) I have eaten so far (I AM fussy when it comes to this kind of things and used to live in Paris where it is supposed to be the place for the best baguettes).

Regarding variety at this baker's, beside the boring basic baguette:

- tradition made with Label rouge flour (in baguette and ball shape). Unless the weather is very humid, it is still good in the evening, and even the next morning.
- pain Picard made with a mix of wheat and spelt (�pautre)
- pain de campagne (in different shapes and sizes)
- baguette with cereals
- baguette proven�ale
- ciabatta
- corde made with a mix of wheat and rye. Perfect for oysters, because rye only is too heavy.
- pain de mie
- pain brioch�. A marvel with foie gras. Much better than pain de mie which I used to use till I tried the pain brioch�.
- and more I am sure.

All in one shop.

NickB

grr... Did you have to mention these ones? My favourites at my local bakery back in Provence and I am a good 1000km away from there right now and can only salivate in frustration... ... although whether our local 'pain de montagne' is comparable to yours or is in fact a totally different one, I do not know....

Agree with you on pain de campagne, though. The thing is, it is such a generic term ("pain au levain" being also another one of that kind) that it can give rise to excellent interpretations as well as revolting ones.

What makes bread interesting in France is that it is still (although this is slowly disappearing under the influence of the Pauls and Poilanes of this world ) an artisanal product. Therefore, you are going to get significant variations in quality from one bakery to another, with some being good at certain things and others at other things (and some good at absolutely nothing ).

I also agree with San Gottardo's broad characterisation of breads in the German and French traditions. German breads have never really been my thing personally (on the whole a little too, how shall we say, 'filling'), although I can see why they can appeal to others.

carnarvon

Br�tchen (aka Semmel) can be nice and not heavy (don't last though, same as basic baguette)....

orbitmic

Fully agree with you as usual! I love both fougasse provencale and fougasse nicoise. It rings of xmas marvels as well as best ever snack when it has just been bought and you dip a bit of it in your local olive oil with a bit of fleur de sel. Un delice! Sorry if I make you salivate more but considering what I know of your travel destination this month, I know you will be in another place where food can be magnificent!

I think that the point you make about bread being artisanal and unique and what it implies is crucial indeed. As you say, "pain de campagne" (or indeed pain au levain or the increasingly widespread "boules bio") can mean everything from a 'Carrefour' standard to a disgusting dry and brownish loaf of bread to a stunning wood-fired thick crust bread which smells across the whole house! I have had some disgusting pains de montagne, but the one of my local baker in Nice is simply fabulous. Both very crusty and very soft, with a slightly sour taste of spelt, and which will easily keep for a full week. I have seen other pains de montagne, good or bad, with no resemblance to this whatsoever. Most bakeries also have some sort of 'pain du patron' which could cover any aspect of a vast bread world!

I never buy Paul or Poilane, I am against standardisation of what needn't be standardised, and food is pretty high up that particular list! On that note, and in the spirit of fusion food, I'm going to bake my home made pita bread!

San Gottardo

That's all? Just in the dark bread department there is more in a good German bakery.

Seriously, I prefer a French bakery to a German one, but that has more to do with the fact that most German bakeries are parts of chains that distribute some pre-fabricated stuff and with the fact that they are poor in the viennoiserie and patisserie range of products which I particularly like.

But on the point of diversity, there is more in Germany.

carnarvon

You are correct about the schwarz Brot. But I do not like it much. LOL