The history of French bread and its recipe

When you see a French person or we tell you “France”, what comes first to your mind? Bread, of course, la baguette! In France, there are 33,000 bakeries in total! La baguette (French bread) is a candidate to apply for the UNESCO of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. We have an expression “avoir du pain sur la planche” which means to have a lot to do.

The history of French bread

The bread was first invented in Egypt, 3000 BC. We believe that bread was created by accident by mixing grains with salted water from the Nile which is rich in fermentation agents. This paste was then cooked and the bread was created.

Then, it is the Greeks who developed the job of baker. They will share their knowledge with the Romans, 168 BC. They developed different techniques to cook their bread, from a clay oven to a more modern oven in stone or brick.

During the Middle-Ages, the bread takes a more important place in our society. It is thanks to Philippe Le Bel in 1305 that the bakeries are regulated and the quality, price will be monitored. It became forbidden to sell stale and burnt bread, and also bread eaten by rats. Rich people can eat wheat bread while poor people only eat black bread which could cause a disease due to rye ergot.

In 1793, the tax on windmills and ovens was abolished in France. In 1838, August Zang from Austria started producing bread in Paris with success. The first boulangerie is created in 1836 in Paris and later the appearance of the baguette. The consumption of fresh bread started while the population were used to eating stale bread.

A French bread recipe

Ingredients

This recipe is to make three to four loaves of bread. You will need the following ingredients:

• 500g flour (“la farine” in French)
• 50g mixed seeds (“un mélange de graines” in French)
• 300g water at ambient temperature (“de l’eau à température ambiante” in French)
• 10g dry yeast (“levure de boulanger sèche” in French)
• 10g salt

Method to prepare your bread

In a bowl, add the flour, yeast and salt. You will then incorporate the water little by little by mixing with your hand until you get your dough (“une pâte” in French). Knead (“pétrir” in French) the dough for 10 minutes and then leave it to stand for another 10 minutes.

Add the seeds in the dough and try to distribute it uniformly. Your dough is now ready to grow, put it in a bowl with a tea towel on top (this is to avoid any draught that could avoid your dough rising) and leave it at ambient temperature for two hours.

After two hours, take your dough and separate it into three identical size balls. Form nice round balls, wet them slightly and add some seeds around. Leave them to rise for another 45 minutes, with a cloth on top that you will slightly flour.

Turn your oven on at 240C, take your baking tray out, add some oil and put the three doughs spaced. Leave it to cook for 25 minutes. Miam, miam!

You can find here the original recipe that inspired me when writing this article.

Tell me in the comments if you have already eaten bread in France ? Feel free to share this article!

A bientôt!