French bread for the
novice!
Let’s face it; bread is
comfort food, isn’t it! Especially the wonderfully tart taste of fresh
French bread drifting out in early morning when you take a cup of coffee
and before you leave for work! French cuisine is well known for its
authentic take on foods. As a result, French bread is unique as it’s
prepared without any preservatives and preservative chemicals. That
means that the bread will go stale faster but you are ensured fresh and
completely healthy bread that will be really good for you. Here is a
little history on what makes French bread so popular with almost
everyone.
Types of French bread
Over the years, French
bread underwent several changes and there are quite a few varieties that
are used by French people on a day to day basic. Here is a list of the
most commonly used French breads.
1.Additional ingredients
like soy flour, bean flour and wheat malt flour are all added to the
ingredients to increase the flavor of the bread.
2.Specialist loaves use a
BIGA or a POOLISH. This special starter solution is used to prove the
bread and increase the size of the bread. Additional ingredients added
to the BIGA can add flavors to the French bread.
3.Batard is a special
variety of French bread that is used in certain areas of France. This
bread is short and rugby ball shaped. This shape of bread is created to
use up the leftover dough formed after making the classic French bread.
4. Flute
is another variant of French bread that is really popular. The bread is
half the size and half the diameter too.
5.Ficelle is another
French bread that is commonly used that is smaller than Flute French
breads but tastes the same.
6.Rudi Rolls are also
made from the same dough but are shaped for dinner and in individual
servings.
Fillings for baguettes
There are several bakers
that use fillings in their baguettes to increase the taste of the bread.
For example, a few gourmet bakers add mushroom tapenades, sun- dried
tomatoes and olive oil tapendes and even chocolate into the bread to
create wonderfully flavored loaves. Breakfast French breads are filled
with chocolate, jam and coffee mixtures to create a wonderful filling
for office goers.
Chef variants
Chefs love the taste of
good fresh French bread and the bread is used as an ingredient in
several recipes to add flavor and thickness. For example,
1.A French bread and
sausage stuffing is considered one of the best ways to prepare roast
chicken. About 16 ounces of fresh French bread is shredded and mixed
with pork sausage meat, celery, onions and poultry seasoning and pepper
to stuff chickens for roasting.
2.French
bread is the best
crunchy bread to create Melba toasts and French toasts from. All you
have to do to create a good French toast is dunk slices of French bread
into milk, sugar and egg solutions. Apply a lot of butter to the pan and
fry the bread on both sides till it’s toasted through. If you want to
make a Melba toast you will have to split the bread slice after frying
into two separate slices again. This can be a little difficult to do
though.
If you cannot find
authentic French bread at the local bakery then do take the time to
check out online recipes and find the right recipe to make French bread.
The process may seem difficult but its not. The entire process of making
French bread can be learned to make ideal French bread in a few days
time. |
