The history of France is littered with bread, literally. From the middle ages to the renaissance period and today. The primary reason for this is due to the cultural significance that bread holds to the French people. In fact, during the French revolution, it was estimated that on average, a Frenchman would consume three pounds of bread per day.
Therefore it is no surprise that there are more than 20 varieties of French bread. Over the years small local bakeries popularized these varieties of loaves. However, the one thing that remains constant is the number of ingredients: 4. In fact, it's mandated that for any bread to be termed as ‘French’ bread, it must only consist of flour, water, salt, and yeast. The difference in the loaves arises in the manipulation of rising times, baking, and kneading techniques.
To keep up with changing demands, other ingredients such as rye flour and ascorbic acid have been permitted. However, the traditional French bread still remains a specialty in many independent bakeries and family recipes. The result of all this? A beautiful crust with crispy golden-brown hue and a chewy interior that always ignites a smile knowing you are partaking in a meal that has been perfected over hundreds of years.
1. La Baguette
Recipe: (link)
Howto Enjoy: (link)
Taste and Texture: Crispy with a fluffy crumb.
Best Served: Some of the best tasting baguette meals include zucchini tomato strata also known as a savory bread pudding, Lao-style chicken baguette sandwiches with watercress, and buttery crab bread pudding.
Additional Information:
The baguette is probably the most iconic French bread. What sets it aside from other loaves is its size, measuring around 2 inches in width and up to 1.5 inches high but with an extraordinary length of 25 inches. This bread is simply hard to miss, and that’s not all; even though the regulations stipulate that the bread is to be prepared with wheat flour, water, yeast or leaven and cooking salt just like any other bread, it has a distinctive crispy taste.
Baguettes have a deep golden crunchy crust with a white and fluffy crumb interior riddled with numerous holes. However, with time, the crust will become chewy and its, therefore, recommended to consume this loaf within a few days of baking.
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2. Ficelle
Recipe: (link)
How to Enjoy: (link)
Taste and Texture: Spongy interior with a slight saltiness.
Best Served: In French cuisine ficelles are mostly served at formal meals, however, they still make for a perfect breakfast bread. Simply break a piece of the bread and spread a dollop of butter on it. Its closeness to a baguette in terms of flavor and ingredients also makes it a perfect substitute in any baguette related meals.
Additional Information:
Ficelle is a slimmer version of the classic French baguette. This loaf has an elegant slender shape; in fact, its name refers to a string which sort of explains the reference to one.
Ficelle features a tasty and crunchy crust with a somewhat chewy interior. The outer crust has a golden-brown hue while the interior is mostly creamy brown.
Baking a ficelle can be quite daunting for first-timers, especially if you are considering going the sourdough way. Some form of scoring and shaping experience is required in the preparation of the dough if you want to pull off an aesthetically pleasing ficelle. Most artisan bakers will use both sourdough preferment and yeast in the preparation of the dough.
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3. Brioche
Recipe: (link)
How to Enjoy: (link)
Taste and Texture: Sweet and fluffy.
Best Served: Just like other French bread varieties, there’s no shortage of dishes that go down well with a brioche. From crunchy bacon to juicy sliced tomatoes. This buttery bread can be eaten with breakfast or made into a sandwich for lunch. If you have leftover brioche simply make French toast with it.
Additional Information:
While most French bread varieties are known to be strict sticklers to the four ingredients recipe, the brioche is a welcome departure from this tradition. This classic French yeasted bread has a high butter and egg content, giving it a soft and fluffy texture. This also extends to the flavor whereby the combination of flour and these two ingredients create magical savory sweetness that will have you coming back for more.
Brioche bread is rather easy to identify thanks to the pale-yellow crumb with a shiny crust that’s thin but with a golden-brown hue. Majority of the loaves are rectangular shaped, but some artisan bakers usually take it a step further by shaping round boule with a muffin-like ball on top.
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4. Fougasse
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