It wasn't so long ago that I would regularly drive about 15 kms on Sunday mornings, to buy some of the very best sourdough bread in the area. That bakery changed hands, and I have taken my patronage elsewhere.
Our local town, which is just 7 kms away, now has two very good bakeries, so on Saturdays (Market day) Lady M goes to buy salads, fruit, and a few luxuries, whilst topping-up with several baguettes for the freezer.
Bread freezes very well, but should never be kept for more than a week. It comes out just as fresh as when it went in.
.jpg)
Our local baguettes have pointed ends (noses), which makes them look very attractive; even if those noses are wasted.
A good conscientious baker is a bonus for any community. Those that cut corners are a waste of time. There was a time when lots of bakers were buying 'ready to bake' frozen baguette dough that simply needing defrosting, and popping in the oven. That's not what I call baking! Luckily this lazy fashion has now all but disappeared, and again we're into a period of pukka bakers and baking.
A slice of the above with a chunk of good Paté; and I'm in heaven.
Manna from heaven?
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Good bread IS heaven sent.
DeleteA real bakery is heaven. We have one real one, as opposed to a bread shop, on the island. The smell and selection are delectable. We buy sesame rolls sometimes for breakfast and buy all grain loaves. Like you we put them in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteThis shop does a roaring trade of course. They also sell coffee and far more than the traditional sticky cakes.
Baguettes are in fashion here but they can hardly be the same as yours. Not the right atmosphere for a start, nor the tradition. Viva La France
Something as simple as a good bakery can change an area completely. A good baker is akin to a good magician.
DeleteWe can buy French style baguettes here and the best are made by Vietnamese heritage bakers. Baguettes in Vietnam itself are sublime.
ReplyDeleteI believe they make perfect baguettes in Pondicherry India.
DeleteThe local baguettes look like dolphins - snouts rising out of the bag.
ReplyDeleteThey do look a bit Dolphin-like. Bottle noses?
DeleteWhy not make your own? No need to freeze them then. We have a Morphy Richards bread maker and usually we just use it to make the dough and the kneeding, as we prefer cobs to bread that you cut. You have any choice of bread.with 12 settings.
ReplyDeleteWe have a wood fired oven here, and in the winters I would occasionally bake bread in it. However, having such a wonderful supply of 'perfect' bread nearby, it's wiser to buy from the pro's.
DeleteMe too - even if my waistline isn't
ReplyDeleteIs bread fattening? We don't eat a lot; just a small amount at lunchtime.
DeleteTwo really good bakers nearby is a gift. Freshly baked bread is so much better than the mass manufactured loaves.
ReplyDeleteI do also buy packs of wholemeal sliced grain filled bread which is great for toast.
DeleteSurely there is a reason for the noses.
ReplyDeleteI imagine it's simply the way they are rolled into shape. A little flourish at each end makes them look nice.
DeleteMy grandma owned the village bakery for over three decades. She baked her homemade bread and confectionaries every day, and was well-loved and supported. We have two nearby bakeries, the minute I step through the doors, the distinct aroma of freshly baking bread brings those memories flooding back. Nothing compares to a loaf of freshly baked bread.
ReplyDeleteJo
It used to be one of my simple tasks as a child to go to the village bakery to buy bread. I've loved those bakery visits ever since.
DeleteA fresh slice of home-made bread and real butter is heaven! I don't make my own bread, but we do have a heated slice of artisan bread and real butter with our coffee/tea every morning.
ReplyDeleteSuch a simple pleasure, but a real one. The butter is important too.
DeleteI used to make the bread for my family and my brothers'. Mom and the grands pitched in to help. How tired we were at day's end.
ReplyDeleteI would make bread more often myself but it's all that time and effort; and the results were never certain.
DeleteNothing can beat proper French baguettes, butter and lovely raspberry jam or pate. It seems that you can only get them in France, not the same anywhere else. Perhaps the flour is from a special variety of wheat?
ReplyDeleteThe bread certainly does have a particular flavour, and coupled with unsalted butter and (in Lady M's case) Apricot jam, it is really special.
DeleteI used to love freshly baked bread when I was a child, but bread these days just isn't the same. Even an unsliced loaf, when pulled apart doesn't tear the same way as those from sixty years ago. Perhaps the gluten is missing? Or perhaps it doesn't get the second rising? or even a proper single rising. I don't know. I have tried to make my own bread, but that didn't work well and now it is winter there isn't a place warm enough to set the dough and let it rise. I'll try again in summer.
ReplyDeleteI have found a nice bread that you make ahead and store the dough in your fridge for up to 3 days. Each day, you pinch off a softball sized lump, give it a quick knead, plop it on a sheet of parchment, let it raise and bake it. It is not something I do a lot of in the summer, but it is a nice way to take the chill off the kitchen. The house smells wonderful too.
ReplyDelete