Life as a cook: La Semaine du Goût

Hey everyone, I hope you're doing great!

 Today, I'd like to talk about something special happening all over France:

(It roughly translates to "The week of taste" in English.)

It's a cultural event taking place each year in October in the country. Focused towards the youth and mostly in elementary schools, its goal is to develop the awareness of French children to the importance of eating well and the cultural weight of gastronomy in the country. 

To do so, professionals of the food industry (mostly chefs and even the famous ones), present their work and passion in the classes. The cooks and the teachers work hand in hand to educate the students and introduce them to the world of French gastronomy. However, this event is not limited to the country's cuisine: this year, the world's tastes are represented with Mexican, Japanese and many other different chefs. 

The activities they offer are varied:

-Workshops (about the ingredients, their origins, their uses,etc.)

-Discovery of new recipes and their applications

-The importance of eating healthily

-The tendencies in gastronomy

-Etc. 

If elementary schools are the main target of "La Semaine du Goût", the cultural event also targets a broad range of environments to share its message: college campuses, companies, cultural centers, ... there are many places in France this week where you might find expositions and shows offered by chefs and food industry professionals. The Week of Taste is 26 years old now, and it's becoming quite popular. It was actually exported to Japan, a country which shares a passion for fine eating with France.

There's much more to know about this event and if you're interested (and speak french) you can go on the dedicated website: 

http://www.legout.com/www/presentation.html 
or watch videos like this one:

 

Happy Semaine du Goût!

Life as a cook: The hard bread

I love baking bread almost as much as I love eating it. The problem is I'm still way better at devouring (too much) of it than I am skilled at baking. But when you're passionate, giving up is not an option.

I did manage to bake some beautiful loaves, some nice looking bagels, buns, baguettes, etc. But one of the recurring problems I encounter is the density of the final products. Sure, my bread taste good and fresh out of the oven, it's salty enough, crispy enough, but there's one fatal problem: it feels too heavy on the stomach.

Unlike the French bread I'm used to here at home, especially the baguette and the pain de mie or pain de campagne, my bread lacks something vital.

In bread, the little holes are signs of the softness of the dough, and its concentration in gas  and air, imprisoned during the elaboration. See on the left? That's what we want it to be (I didn't make this wonderful bread by the way, not yet!)

But the problem may not be so overwhelming in the end. Indeed, I believe I have unlocked some of the secrets behind baking real bread (let's remain humble though, I'm talking about a personal breakthrough, I'm certain bakers all over the world know about what I'm about to describe.) After working on the quantity and quality of ingredients, the freshness of the yeast, the temperature of the room, the prayers addressed to the patron of bakers, what remained (and is of the utmost importance) was the quantity of water and the handling of the dough. Here's what I have found out:

1. There must be enough water (I think that about the water must amount to 77% of the weight of the flour) The only problem is, it makes the dough sticky and extra hard to work with...
2. ...which comes in direct conflict with our second requirement: the handling of the dough. It's sticky, but you must prepare it with extra care and precision. If you try too hard, you'll probably expel all the gas and the bread won't rise enough. There must be balance between shaping the bread  and not bothering the dough too much so it remains aerial.

After following those rules, here's the bread I obtained:

 There's holes now! (Like Swiss cheese "gruyère" which is delicious on cereal bread by the way)

 I'm pretty proud of it, however it's still a far cry from bakery's bread but I have good hopes that one day I'll get close to the bakers' best. In the meantime, I'll make sure to keep you updated on my quest!

Have a fun weekend!