Daily Bread

As a good Catholic, I have always felt that “Daily Bread” was not just an important phrase in the Our Father. Rather, I think that if Jesus thought the phrase important enough to put into the prayer he told people to pray, than I should take this part of the Bible literally. So, I love a bit of bread each day and Paris is the perfect place to take an adoration and make it into a near religious quest.

Josh and I have been on our own personal Quest for the Holy Grail—aka The Quest for the Perfect Baguette, or lacking that, at least a baguette we can clearly agree on. Few things will bring tension to a dinner table faster in France than a baguette.

This is a bit more complicated than it may seem. There are just so many choices! In our immediate neighborhood, there are at least eight bakeries and that doesn’t count the others that are a mere stones throw away. Frankly, if any one of these bakeries were in Washington, I would walk miles to them and would be happy with the least of the lot, but here, I do not have to settle.

NOTE: Its worth mentioning my other small obsession here. I have been reading two books about Julia Child. While one book should be enough on most topics, I have read two back to back, because Julia was a bit of a crazy American, who came to France in her 30’s with her Francophile husband, and fell in love with the food. I love how in each chapter she describes entire meals, including exactly what wine she had. Now, that is a role model I can take seriously. Julia also loved French bread—so much so that in her second cookbook, there is a reliable French bread recipe.

Anyways, the first few days, we were happy with all bread, because it really is all better than what we can get back home. I found myself wondering, “How can my country put a man on the moon, but not be able to make a reliably good loaf of bread?”

But then, the squabbles began. Josh likes the outside of the bread best and prefers that it not be too brown. He feels the inside of the bread is mostly irrelevant and breaks his bread into small “outside” pieces.

I think that the mark of a good bread is as much the “inside” as the “outside”. I like big irregular bubbles inside the bread. I also like the outside crispy and more “done” than Josh.

So we began to compare. Josh generally is in charge of buying the bread—he picks it up on his way home and in the interest of science, he would bring different baguettes most days. We only buy a demi-baguette, not that we wouldn’t eat an entire baguette, but this is as much of a nod to Adkins as I can muster.

He bought one from the Middle Eastern Baker (I liked that one, he thought it was ok), he bought one from the baker at the end of our block (he liked that, I thought it was too puffy on the inside), I bought one from the Artesian baker on the other side of Arago (I liked it a lot, he said it tasted like a pretzel—which I guess is bad), I got one from the baker enroute to the internet café (I thought it was entirely forgetful, so I had it for lunch and didn’t even enter it into the competition). Josh claimed Leigh liked a boulangerie on rue Mouffetard (which is what the word for bread maker is here) and got one from there (he liked it; I thought it was puffy and couldn’t believe that was the one Leigh was talking about). We tried to get one from the Asian baker, but they never seemed to be open and as it turns out they are a “patisserie”—which makes baked goods, but not bread.

I was starting to think that one of us would always be at least 25% unhappy with our bread options. BUT, then, a miracle! We think we found at least a temporary solution. There is a baker that is three doors down from the other baker on rue Mouffetard and this baguette was something different.

It was a bit more expensive—0.70 for a demi-baguette, rather than 0.40, which is typical elsewhere, but it had bubbles on the inside and crispy, but not too crispy outside.

I was in love and Josh was at least in like (he says the white flour on the outside makes a mess, but otherwise seems to agree that it is a good baguette). I’m sure this is the bakery that Leigh was talking about and I can tell you that it is the bread we now have most nights here.

Josh also suggested that this was an entirely different product and this was country bread, not just a baguette. I’m not sure about that, but all I know is that it was what they gave me when I asked in my halting French for a demi-baguette.

So, the Gibson family boulangerie of choice is at least named for now. It’s a cute little stand and they also have a great little bread with cheese in it (now we’re talking!)

Maybe next week I’ll be brave enough to go there and ask for something besides the baguette (though I will have to learn more vocabulary first). But for now, je voudrais une demi-baguette s’il vous plait.

sPg