Pains
‘With bread, all sorrows are less.’
Pain de campagne (Country bread)
Pains
( Breads )
While not all of the local specialties included in this book have enjoyed the same level of global recognition as the croissant or lemon tart, they are nonetheless based on age-old recipes that have, over the years, cemented themselves deeply in the local gastronomic psyche. None of them, however, will ever achieve the notoriety that bread has enjoyed. Bread is so much a part of the French gastronomic and cultural landscape that it’s easy to forget that, for thousands of years, people from every civilisation around the world have included bread, in one form or another, as an integral part of their daily diet. It is truly remarkable that such a seemingly simple concoction has not only withstood the test of time, but also managed to play such a crucial role in the development of so many civilisations.
It is easy to overlook the fact that the humble loaf of bread we just bought from an artisan baker is the result of years of practice with countless trials and errors. More importantly, the recipes used to make these breads have often been perfected, sometimes over generations, based on the bakery’s own climatic environment, local ingredients and equipment. That being said, making bread is an incredibly rewarding exercise that can be enjoyed by the whole family, and providing that you start at the beginning and take the time to familiarise yourself with the subtleties of your ingredients and equipment, your bread-making journey will reward you with some of the same simple pleasures that people have enjoyed for so many years.
Nowadays, there are countless types of bread, each with their own flavour and texture profiles, varying degrees of difficulty and timeline constraints. To simplify things, I have divided breads into three basic categories.
Pain méthode directe ( Bread, direct method ) :
This is by far the simplest and most popular method of making bread. It relies entirely on the addition of yeast for the fermentation process (proving). This is an ideal method for amateur bakers to use, because it is very predictable, fast and almost failproof. Breads made with this method, such as the baguette, are usually very light and airy, with a thin, crispy crust, but they have a short shelf life and don’t have the same depth of flavour as breads made using the other methods.
The taste and texture of breads made using the direct proving method can be further improved by reducing the amount of yeast, but this process will dramatically lengthen the proving process and the breads will be much more vulnerable to environmental factors such as variations in temperature or humidity (for more information on yeast).
Pain sur poolish ( Semi-sourdough bread ) :
This is my favourite method. This bread relies on the addition of a poolish, a very lightly yeasted levain (starter) for its fermentation process. It is still very quick to prove, but it produces a bread that is more ‘creamier’ and full-bodied, with a light sour tang and crunchy crust. This method is usually called à l’ancienne, probably due to its more rustic appearance and gives you the best of both worlds — a quick and predictable fermenting process and a beautifully crispy and tasty loaf.
The poolish is a pre-ferment method routinely used in France for the manufacture of anything yeasted, from brioche to croissants, breads to fougasse. Personally, I think the slightly heavier crumb and sour taste that you get when using this method is better suited to rustic bread loaves more so than subtle viennoiseries such as croissants or brioche, where the added sourness, however small, detracts from their wonderfully buttery undertones and fluffiness. Once again, it’s a personal preference and first and foremost, the poolish method is a great way to gently transition into the complex world of bacterial fermentation and its wonderful flavours and textures.
Pain au levain ( Full sourdough bread ) :
Making bread with a full levain (starter) was the only method available until the invention of commercial yeast early in the twentieth century. The fermentation process relies on a levain chef, a pre-ferment made of flour and water without addition of yeast, which has been left to age over four or five days. Making full sourdough bread requires time, patience (five days for the pre-ferment and up to 20 hours proving), dedication and, most important of all, a heavy firebrick oven. Breads made with a full starter will tend to have a denser and much sourer crumb and a chewier crust.
L
I have been fortunate enough to have worked with some amazing bakers, both in France and Australia, over the course of my career and I am yet to taste an ‘OK’ loaf of full sourdough bread. Loaves that rely entirely on a levain chef for their fermentations are either amazing or just plain bad, and when considering the fact that most home bakers won’t have access to the equipment required to make a successful loaf, the inevitable conclusion is that you will most likely be disappointed with the result. I am aware that this is probably going to get me in trouble, but I truly believe that cookbooks should be motivational tools, aimed at gradually building the skills and confidence of their readers by providing achievable goals, taking into account the level of skill required and the type of equipment required.
Consequently, I have chosen to include only the quick and almost failproof bread recipes that are based on the direct and semi-sourdough methods. I feel these recipes are easily achievable for the home cook and will hopefully provide you with the skills and confidence to experiment with more technically challenging sourdoughs in the future.
All ferments are not created equal
Not to put too fine a point on my reluctance to include full sourdoughs in this book … but, remember that yeasts and bacteria are all around us — in the water and air — and in all the ingredients used in the manufacture of the bread. As such, each levain will ferment based on its own indigenous yeast and bacterial content, so therefore a recipe designed in France will not taste or prove with the same characteristics as one made anywhere else.