French Village and Country Life
No 2: la boulangerie
At the heart of French village life is ' la boulangerie'.... the bakery that produces the lovely bread for which France is justly famous. And you will find that all but the very smallest villages have their own bakery.... in fact, here in Beauville we had two until very recently . Our boulangerie is owned and run by Gilles Galan ( le boulanger) and his wife Anne, the second generation to run this attractive bakery in the heart of our village. They are very hard working ( open 6 days a week including Sunday and most bank holidays) and produce a mouthwatering selection of breads and pastries ( pattisserie) which you can buy at all hours. The Galans are aided by their assistant Jean-Louis who has also worked in the States and Sweden.
Gilles day starts very early.... at 4.00am he is in the bakery puting the bread he made up the previous day into the enormous ovens behind the shop. He bakes from 500 to 1000 loaves per day, and in addition finds time to make a wide variety of pastries. Once baking is under way... baguettes take 35 minutes and the biggest loaves 1 1/4 hours... he starts to mix the dough for the next day. From 9 till 12 he and Jean Louis mix and work the dough. This then rests and is then placed in an automatic 'raising room' for 15 hours... here it gradually raises until it is just right for the oven early next morning.
Here, Gilles is hand making a twisted bread, which is very handsome on the table. In addition there are ....ficelles ( fine sticks), baguettes the famous French stick), flutes (oaf)} gros pain (really huge !), rye bread, wholemeal bread, crowns, épis ( ear of wheat shaped) and his speciality 'Pain Gascone' which is all hand made. The shop also boasts a lovely selection of pastries, including the famous Croissants and Pains au chocolat. The speciality of the region is called a 'Croustade'.... a very fine flaky pastry desert. It would make a superb dish on your dinner table.Even better.... why not come and visit us, and we will go and see Gilles and Anne!
Next article.... The Village Restaurant.