A French Breads and Baguette Class in Paris: What You'll Learn
If there's one iconic food from Paris known around the world it's the baguette. This long, slender loaf is an essential piece of French cooking and is taken quite seriously here.
If you're interested in discovering more behind this delicious part of the French cuisine or want to dabble in some other native bread types like brioche, ficelle, and pain de campagne, you should consider signing up for a these classes.
What is the Baguette?
This bread is a long loaf that measures about a foot long. It's made up of salt, flour, yeast, and water and softly kneaded for a few minutes to ensure the ingredients are well combined. This ends up giving this bread its iconic hard crust and soft interior.
An interesting thing about this bread is that it's a very serious business for bakers here. Laws in Paris require bakers to only make this with the ingredients mentioned above and prohibits them from freezing the loaves or adding preservatives in them so they last longer. This means that any bakery you travel to in Paris sells extremely fresh goods.
Tips You'll Learn in the Classes
Baguettes
- How to Properly Mix the Dough
You'll discover how to mix the dough so that all ingredients are well combined without damaging it.
- How to Score Them
Scoring the top is essential to ensure it expands when baking and you'll discover how to properly do so in the class.
- The Correct Baking Temperature
This bread can be a little tricky when it comes to letting it bake in the oven. You'll discover the best heat to bake it in so it rises and is able to have a soft interior while featuring a crunchy crust.
- Shaping the Loaf
Ensuring the loaf doesn't spread and look unsightly is important. This culinary course will teach you how to shape this bread so it looks perfect.
Other Breads and Techniques
- How to Knead
Kneading is crucial with any type of yeast bread and you'll be taught different techniques as to how you can do so. For instance, you'll discover that to make pain brié you need to constantly pound the dough when kneading it. These tips will ensure your breads turn out correctly and have incredible flavors and textures.
- How to Mix in Cheese, Herbs, and Spices
Many breads include a gooey mixture of cheese or fresh herbs mixed into them. In the courses, you'll be taught the best cooking cheese, how to grate the cheese, and how to measure out herbs and spices to give the bread the best flavor.
- Pairing Bread with Wine
In addition to making bread, you'll discover some of the best wines that go can go alongside them.
A culinary course in Paris is a great way to help discover more about the traditions of French cuisine and how you can make its historic dishes on your own.
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