Recently I was given a book called 'Good Bread is Back' (Le Retour du Bon Pain) by Steven Laurence Kaplan. It's a history of French bread and is completely fascinating. My current bread obsession is being satisfied by our local Saturday morning organic market - Le Marché des Arceaux and by one stall in particular. Reading this book I've discovered that all French bread was originally sour bread or le pain au levain. This bread is making a comeback with the return to traditional organic practices. It's a denser bread full of taste and goodness, which keeps fresh longer than bread made from brewers yeast.
The above bread is made by a local man who sells his loaves to a long line of faithful devotees. It takes quite some stamina to get this bread as he chats to each customer with his twinkling charm. He's a man very happy in his work. Each loaf is a different size and shape and is all traditional pain au levain.
Oh, how I miss the Marché des Arceaux and my little apartment on the rue Condorcet! The bread looks wonderful. With such good bread in proximity, are you even tempted to make your own? Here in Atlanta, GA, there is only one bakery with truly good bread.
ReplyDeleteTime to move back to France, I think...
your photos and the photos in that book are amazing. you are very spoilt having a weekend organic market so close by! i would have a field day if i was there.
ReplyDeletewe have some japanese bakeries over here who do some pretty top notch breads though, so it's not all that bad.
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ReplyDeleteI agree. Your photos are great! Simply beautiful! I would love to try the French bread... Looks delicious!
ReplyDeletebeautiful cloth bound book. I love how the colour almost matches crusts of bread.
ReplyDeletefrench bread, is the best.
what a beautiful loaf... how lucky you are!
ReplyDeleteone of the nicest memories of my last time in france was buying bread at the local boulangerie, or better still, at the market.
p.s.: thanks for your london ideas - i'll have to see what the volcano says...
Ce pain a l'air délicieux ! c'est une boulangerie de montpellier ?
ReplyDeleteah le pain au levain !
ReplyDeletele meilleur !!
;-)
°°° le pain viens du marché des arceaux.
ReplyDeletei love bread. whenever we are in france, i'm always looking for the best bread.
ReplyDeleteHere's to bread - so simple, so sustaining. Lovely photos!
ReplyDelete