kb0000
Washing Up
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]No. I’m saying that anybody can tell the difference if they pay attention (and the difference does not always favor EU). [/FONT]
What's wrong with American baguettes?
- Thread starter kb0000
- Start date
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No, I disagree. Not everyone would be able. But I am sure a lot more people could tell the difference if they were to be tested side by side.
Seeing as that would be a monumental task to be able to do that with a baguette made from scratch it won't be tested, will it.
And to boot... a lot of people actually confuse it with French Bread. Using a Baguette to make garlic bread rather than French Bread.
Naughty, naughty.
Seeing as that would be a monumental task to be able to do that with a baguette made from scratch it won't be tested, will it.
And to boot... a lot of people actually confuse it with French Bread. Using a Baguette to make garlic bread rather than French Bread.
Naughty, naughty.
Mostly, I agree with dragn.
We make garlic bread, usually using baguette, because we like the smaller diameter pieces. And besides, French bread is much harder to find around here than baguette. I sometimes find wholegrain baguette, but I don't think I have ever seen a wholegrain French bread.
because then it wouldn't be French bread!
Well, I would be happy with a bread made in the style of a "French bread", but made with wholegrain. I have had wonderful baguette made with wholegrain and even wonderful croissants, though good wholegrain croissants seem to be harder to make. There is this one croissanterie in Montreal that has had a number of different owners over the years, that has wonderful wholegrain croissants. Though there have been numerous owners, they have all been smart enough to hire the same baker.
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
Typing bigger will not make me read you any better.
My point is that without traveling to France to sample an authentic French baguette, one is unable to make a fair comparison. Fresh bread isn't fresh if it has to travel far. It's not that one chooses to "refuse to open your mind to new experiences". It's more like being able to sample food at its peak quality. Point of reference: my local grocery store sells authentic, made in Italy Parmigiana-Reggiano. Aged cheese travels well. I can compare the authentic side-by-side with perfectly adequate, but not as good, made in the U.S. Parmesan cheese. Because I can tell the difference when they are sampled side-by-side, it's possible to make a fair assessment.
kb0000
Washing Up
I don't think its the water, which is different in every well and region, but the bread seems consistent every where in France
JonasStax
Senior Cook
There is an old Scottish tale that states the Scotch distillers pay the sheep farmers to graze their sheep near the mountain streams because the sheep poop washed by rain, from the grazing pastures into the mountain streams, upstream from the distillery gives Scotch it's unique flavour. The truth is it is the type of wood used to make the barrel, the charring process and the aging time that distinguishes one Scotch from another. The barrels have limited life due to the Scotch saturating the wood. The barrels are then sold to the wine industry, who dismantle the barrels, shave the inside, salvage the shavings for wine flavouring, re-assemble the barrel, pour in the wine, add the wood shavings, then age the wine.
My database contains 100 prize winning baking recipes from various USA Fairs. The recipes read no different to the other baking recipes in the database. Taste differences are dependent on the regional growing conditions, the quality of the ingredients and the skill of the cook.
The best locality on Planet Earth for cuisine is Mount Vesuvius, Italy because the rich volcanic soil enhances the produce flavour. People risk living next to an active volcano because the flavour of the food is different to the rest of the planet.
I live in Perth, Western Australia. Western Australia is a global supplier of wheat. The wheat is a genetic hybrid engineered for dry planted through a dry drilling machine. A grain of superphosphate is dropped in the hole and the wheat seed on top. The seed can stay in the soil for up to six months until the wet season then the wheat sprouts. The wheat is a hard grain suitable for fattening cattle and all purpose wheat. I have seen USA documentaries on wheat growing which are similar to the Western Australian growing methods.
About 60 kilometres from Perth, is a rich soil area suitable for growing baking products wheat. The wheat is planted, harvested, trucked to silos and milled separately from the above wheat to prevent contamination. The milled flour is sold to the pasta and bread industries. Impossible to purchase unless one has contacts in the baking industry.
Japan has limited land for growing Soba noodle wheat. The Western Australian Government in conjunction with the Japanese Soba industry are conducting trial plantings to determine which Soba wheat grows best in the region. The Western Australian growing season is in the Japanese winter season, therefore; there is no direct competition with the Japanese Soba wheat growers.
One of the Japanese breweries uses 1000 year old yeast. The mother yeast is halved once a month for brewing beer, then fed until it grows to full volume. The yeast is continuously guarded in case of theft. It is the uniqueness of the yeast which gives the beer the distinctive flavour.
The European wheat like the Perth region wheat is a specific breed for baking products. The same for the yeast, descendent from a 1000 years of breeding. Hundreds of years breeding milking cows, laying chickens and green grass feed determines the quality of the milk and eggs.
Regardless of where on Planet Earth a person resides, if the identical European soil conditions, breed of yeast, cows, chickens, feed, are available, an identical product or superior to the French product is achievable.
My database contains 100 prize winning baking recipes from various USA Fairs. The recipes read no different to the other baking recipes in the database. Taste differences are dependent on the regional growing conditions, the quality of the ingredients and the skill of the cook.
The best locality on Planet Earth for cuisine is Mount Vesuvius, Italy because the rich volcanic soil enhances the produce flavour. People risk living next to an active volcano because the flavour of the food is different to the rest of the planet.
I live in Perth, Western Australia. Western Australia is a global supplier of wheat. The wheat is a genetic hybrid engineered for dry planted through a dry drilling machine. A grain of superphosphate is dropped in the hole and the wheat seed on top. The seed can stay in the soil for up to six months until the wet season then the wheat sprouts. The wheat is a hard grain suitable for fattening cattle and all purpose wheat. I have seen USA documentaries on wheat growing which are similar to the Western Australian growing methods.
About 60 kilometres from Perth, is a rich soil area suitable for growing baking products wheat. The wheat is planted, harvested, trucked to silos and milled separately from the above wheat to prevent contamination. The milled flour is sold to the pasta and bread industries. Impossible to purchase unless one has contacts in the baking industry.
Japan has limited land for growing Soba noodle wheat. The Western Australian Government in conjunction with the Japanese Soba industry are conducting trial plantings to determine which Soba wheat grows best in the region. The Western Australian growing season is in the Japanese winter season, therefore; there is no direct competition with the Japanese Soba wheat growers.
One of the Japanese breweries uses 1000 year old yeast. The mother yeast is halved once a month for brewing beer, then fed until it grows to full volume. The yeast is continuously guarded in case of theft. It is the uniqueness of the yeast which gives the beer the distinctive flavour.
The European wheat like the Perth region wheat is a specific breed for baking products. The same for the yeast, descendent from a 1000 years of breeding. Hundreds of years breeding milking cows, laying chickens and green grass feed determines the quality of the milk and eggs.
Regardless of where on Planet Earth a person resides, if the identical European soil conditions, breed of yeast, cows, chickens, feed, are available, an identical product or superior to the French product is achievable.
So I guess the answer to the original question is...
There is nothing wrong with American Baguettes. They are just American.
(not French, German, Australian, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, England, Finland, Turkish nor any other country, old or new. Not the south of a country, nor the north, east, west)
did I miss anything?
There is nothing wrong with American Baguettes. They are just American.
(not French, German, Australian, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, England, Finland, Turkish nor any other country, old or new. Not the south of a country, nor the north, east, west)
did I miss anything?
Just Cooking
Master Chef
JonasStax
Senior Cook
Nostalgia is a wonderful attribute. Being a tourist on vacation, conjures up pleasant memories. Tourists walk into a patisserie, become seduced by the smell of freshly baked pastries. That memory is forever locked into the sub-conscious.
Very few tourists deviate from the tourist routes, walk the side streets, talk to the locals and live the local lifestyle.
The reality of life is the local living conditions are not as pleasant as the smell of freshly baked pastries. People migrate because the local living conditions are unpleasant. Migrants adapt to their new surroundings and introduce new cuisine. Who is to say the patisserie they walked in is the best. It is only the best they have experienced.
Bliss is being contented with the availability of the local culinary diversity, weather and living the best lifestyle attainable. I am certain if a person is prepared to invest the time and effort required, they can replace the nostalgia memory with a superior memory.
Very few tourists deviate from the tourist routes, walk the side streets, talk to the locals and live the local lifestyle.
The reality of life is the local living conditions are not as pleasant as the smell of freshly baked pastries. People migrate because the local living conditions are unpleasant. Migrants adapt to their new surroundings and introduce new cuisine. Who is to say the patisserie they walked in is the best. It is only the best they have experienced.
Bliss is being contented with the availability of the local culinary diversity, weather and living the best lifestyle attainable. I am certain if a person is prepared to invest the time and effort required, they can replace the nostalgia memory with a superior memory.
JonasStax
Senior Cook
JonasStax
Senior Cook
Paul Hollywood’s Baguettes
The Great British Baking Show.
https://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/paul-hollywoods-baguettes/
The Great British Baking Show.
https://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/paul-hollywoods-baguettes/
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
Quit being so...logical.
JonasStax
Senior Cook
https://www.sogoodmagazine.com/past...tion/coupe-monde-boulangerie-2020-goes-china/
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4490461
https://focustaiwan.tw/culture/202203290025
Taiwan wins first place at 2022 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie
The three bakers competing for Taiwan were Justin Wu (武子靖) who was responsible for the "Baguette and Breads of the World" test, Lee Chung-wei (李忠威) who handled the "Sweet Viennese Pastries" test, and Hsu Shao-huan (徐紹桓) who took the "Artistic Piece" test.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupe_du_Monde_de_la_Boulangerie
Bread Bakers Guild of America
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_Bakers_Guild_of_America
https://www.bbga.org/
https://www.bbga.org/bread/bakers_percentage
https://www.bbga.org/bread/formula_formatting
https://www.bbga.org/bread/baguette_formula
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4490461
https://focustaiwan.tw/culture/202203290025
Taiwan wins first place at 2022 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie
The three bakers competing for Taiwan were Justin Wu (武子靖) who was responsible for the "Baguette and Breads of the World" test, Lee Chung-wei (李忠威) who handled the "Sweet Viennese Pastries" test, and Hsu Shao-huan (徐紹桓) who took the "Artistic Piece" test.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupe_du_Monde_de_la_Boulangerie
Bread Bakers Guild of America
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_Bakers_Guild_of_America
https://www.bbga.org/
https://www.bbga.org/bread/bakers_percentage
https://www.bbga.org/bread/formula_formatting
https://www.bbga.org/bread/baguette_formula
kb0000
Washing Up
So I bought two Panerra baguettes. I threw the last ¼ of the first one in the trash and dumped the second one on the local food pantry. Awful, awful, awful, and this insult to eating cost $5 compared to 67 cents for a real baguette in Paris.
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
If, as you have most vividly stated in previous posts, you dislike American baguettes so much...
Why on earth did you just buy two?
You paid $5.00 for a baguette? 
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
" You paid $5.00 for a baguette? "
Yeah, that´s what I thought, too!!
Especially since a baguette on the Panera website only costs $3.59!
Yeah, that´s what I thought, too!!
Especially since a baguette on the Panera website only costs $3.59!
JonasStax
Senior Cook
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-buy-bread-french-way
The French bread law.
Something that hits all five senses needs protecting, and that's exactly what the French government did back in 1993 with the Décret Pain. The law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.
The French bread law.
Something that hits all five senses needs protecting, and that's exactly what the French government did back in 1993 with the Décret Pain. The law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.
