Vive la baguette? Vive les Cheerios?

[Gifted Gourmet]

article CS Monitor

bread plays an important role in the daily life of the French - but that may be changing. Many consume bread - baguettes, croissants, and brioches - at least three times a day, accompanying breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  But recent research shows that only half of young people (15 to 34 years old), consume bread in the morning.  "It's a result of the Anglo-Saxon influence," says Anne-Hélène Mangin. "In particular, young people prefer cereals for breakfast. This habit is very much on the rise, but very un-French as well.''.. he would love to have his own shop with French bread and tarts. "It may be difficult because Americans are used to soft white bread: they don't really like crusts,'' he admits.

Cereals? Quel dommage .. comment triste! Between this post today and the post on the decline of French specialty cheeses, apparently America has some atoning to do .. or do they?

[Bux]

Certainly we have no atoning to do for what the French decide to do with their lives. That Bryan Brandon has trouble selling crust in Fayetteville, Arkansas is a shame, perhaps. There's certainly a healthy market for bread with a decent crust in New York City. Perhaps the appreciation for a crusty loaf has been kept alive by the successive waves of European immigrants, but the best bakeries these days are in the hands of young bakers less often tied to an old country except as a place to apprentice as Bryan has done. I hope Mr. Brandon can educate his clientele to appreciate a good crusty loaf of bread. No one needs an education to appreciate brownies or chocolate chip cookies in my opinion. I don't understand the consumer demand in France for muffins over croissants or brioche, but I certainly understand the reason for marketing muffins. There's far less technique involved in the making and the shelf life is bit longer.

One of the more interesting and perhaps positive aspects of commerical baking, particularly bread baking in France is the the variety of breads in the better boulangeries. It's not just baguettes any more. There are wonderful whole grain breads and loaves of all shapes and densities.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Perhaps the appreciation for a crusty loaf has been kept alive by the successive waves of European immigrants, but the best bakeries these days are in the hands of young bakers less often tied to an old country except as a place to apprentice as Bryan has done. I hope Mr. Brandon can educate his clientele to appreciate a good crusty loaf of bread.

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That was exactly my take on this as well, Bux. I still can't understand the idea of the younger French generation opting for cereals over breads for breakfast. No one has a better appreciation of good baguettes, croissants, and brioches than I and I always choose them over anything else for breakfast.

[docsconz]

It might be a matter of convenience as it is in the US. It is easier to pour a box of cereal than it is to run out to get a fresh loaf or croissants. Unfortunately, easier does not necessarily mean better.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Unfortunately, easier does not necessarily mean better.

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My motto, Doc, ain't it the truth??

[Busboy]

I'm second to no one in my admiration for a crust ficelle or buttery croissant, but Cheerios with fresh fruit truly is the breakfast of champions. It has a heft and, dare I say it?, a nutritional component that white bread, fat and preserves just don't have.

If they're having Froot Loops for breakfast...then I can get on my high horse.

[Bux]

I thought it was Wheaties that claimed title to the breakfast of champions. Good artisanal boulangeries in France these days are likely to have one or more whole grain breads that are excellent. On the whole, these breads are often better than the baguettes. They've got flavor and a good crust. That they may be healthy is an added plus.

The appeal of cereal is varied. If I'm not mistaken, we get granola from Europe. Brioche and croissants don't hold you til lunch and they have to be bought fresh every morning (although I cheat once I'd learned they freeze well). The real point might be not to assume the French have any taste, just because traditionally they've not had access to bad food.

[Ptipois]

That was exactly my take on this as well, Bux. I still can't understand the idea of the younger French generation opting for cereals over breads for breakfast. No one has a better appreciation of good baguettes, croissants, and brioches than I and I always choose them over anything else for breakfast.

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Trends are one thing, the disappearance of traditions or at least good food products is another thing. Trends come and go. The French will always appreciate a good baguette for breakfast, even if kids at the same breakfast table thrive on Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs (because the Western world is slowly drowning in sugar, and that's a real problem). As well as there will always be people willing to preserve our raw-milk cheeses. There is a need to be vigilant but no need to be alarmed. Our good food traditions are not all as fragile as you think. There are always people to fight for them.

Besides (this makes me feel I'm reliving the past, this same discussion took place a few months ago), crusty bread and baguettes in France are now of much better quality than they have ever been since the end of World War II two to the late 1980's, owing to the improving of wheat quality, the décret Balladur defining the criteria of the baguette de tradition française, and the rising consciousness about the baking terminals and the importance of artisanal bakery. So things are looking up.

Edited August 2, 2005 by Ptipois (log)

[Almass]

I will take anytime a large cup of cafe au lait with a croissant or two.

[Bux]

Trends are one thing, the disappearance of traditions or at least good food products is another thing. Trends come and go. The French will always appreciate a good baguette for breakfast, even if kids at the same breakfast table thrive on Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs (because the Western world is slowly drowning in sugar, and that's a real problem). As well as there will always be people willing to preserve our raw-milk cheeses. There is a need to be vigilant but no need to be alarmed. Our good food traditions are not all as fragile as you think. There are always people to fight for them.

Besides (this makes me feel I'm reliving the past, this same discussion took place a few months ago), crusty bread and baguettes in France are now of much better quality than they have ever been since the end of World War II two to the late 1980's, owing to the improving of wheat quality, the décret Balladur defining the criteria of the baguette de tradition française, and the rising consciousness about the baking terminals and the importance of artisanal bakery. So things are looking up.

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I'm less convinced about certain things, although having been a visitor to France since the late fifties, I will agree that the declilne seems to have bottomed out by and large and that there are as many positive trends as there are declines today. Some things will be lost. The world changes all the time. We operate on a different scale in a different society with a different economy. The average Frenchman is further removed from agriculture than he was in the years after WWII.

A diet of processed cheese and Big Mac's is not the best way to teach a child about the enjoyment of good food. Tomorrow's connoisseurs in France may come to their appreciation of food much the same way as those in America do after a childhood diet that comes to resemble ours. At least there's a foundation in the culture upon which to draw. Nevertheless I see a number of revivalist movements and artisanal pride, often coming from producers whose own family was not connected to farming, cheese making or the production of food stuffs. I'm not troubled either when the movements are not revivalist, but simply bring more quality to the French diet. I'm thinking of the number or microberweries in areas not traditionally known for beer. I'm also thinking that as the baguette has made a revival, that of whole grain bread is the revival of an even older tradition. Good food in France didn't begin with white flour. Let's hope the period following Escoffier proves not to be the high point in French cuisine.

I will also admit to a very un-French breakfast habit. I prefer an espresso for breakfast and I like it at the end of my breakfast much as I like an espresso after my dessert at dinner. I hate to make a fuss at hotels, but I've found most are happy to oblige me my wish.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Does anyone else long for Lionel Poilâne, whom we have discussed as one of the top French bread bakers of recent times?more here on bread in France from 2003 some two years ago ...

[Busboy]

I thought it was Wheaties that claimed title to the breakfast of champions. Good artisanal boulangeries in France these days are likely to have one or more whole grain breads that are excellent. On the whole, these breads are often better than the baguettes. They've got flavor and a good crust. That they may be healthy is an added plus.

The appeal of cereal is varied. If I'm not mistaken, we get granola from Europe. Brioche and croissants don't hold you til lunch and they have to be bought fresh every morning (although I cheat once I'd learned they freeze well). The real point might be not to assume the French have any taste, just because traditionally they've not had access to bad food. 

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Wheaties claimed to be "Breakfast if Champions" but they get soggy way too quick, so have assigned the title to my preferred breakfast food. It may be worth noting that in the Kurt Vonnegut novel of that name, "breakfast of champions" referred to a martini.

The health aspects of bran muffins may be dramatically overstated, btw, as the bran tends to be held together with massive amounts of sugar and fat. My guess is that, after generations of "Continental Breakfast" a certain percentage of people are just saying "what the heck -- why not have a muffin?" as a change of pace.

[marlena spieler]

Does anyone else long for Lionel Poilâne, whom we have discussed as one of the top French bread bakers of recent times?

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Yes, whenever I see/taste wonderful rustic bread, I think of Lionel.

Lionel was a friend of mine, i helped him get started with his london boulangerie. I miss him because he was a wonderful person. and he taught me to appreciate everything about bread, from the flour to the dough to the baking to the eating....

interestingly, he always claimed that he thought the bread was really at its best about a week old......and i agree there is something about pain poilane that only gets better as it ages. i always slice mine very thinly and keep it loosely wrapped, for toast, and to pop into soups....it feels so nourishing, the rye in the sourdough just feels so healthy and delicious.

the good thing is that poilane bread is being made, and made as deliciously as ever, and shipped all over, i've found it not only in london where there is a bakery, but also in nyc. you can order it online.

after her father's (and mother) tragic death several years ago in helocopter accident, the young daughter appollonia, about 19 at the time, took over the helm. And i have heard that she, and the bakery, are doing magnificently. i am so pleased.

lionel would have been very proud.

lionel loved sharing the joys of life with his friends. and his bread was one of his greatest joys, to share.

his staff who worked for him were, and are, very devoted, and have helped guide the craft that is the bakery, along in the right direction.

all of this makes me very hungry for a tartine, and alas, i have only ASDA supermarket baguette. And its nowhere near worth the lovely wedge of ripe brie that i'm topped it with.

Marlena

Edited August 3, 2005 by marlena spieler (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

If you wish more information on this gentleman baker, it is here.

The shop is tiny by American standards, perhaps twenty feet wide and a dozen feet deep, with racks on either side and behind the windows of Poilâne's famous 1.9 kilogram (4.2 pound) round loaves, the only bread in France known by its baker's name, and smaller arrangements of rye breads, currant raisin breads, walnut breads and his famously immoral butter cookies, Punitons ("punishments").

[marlena spieler]

Something that really stuck in my craw was a few years ago when Observer food writer Nigel Slater was writing about visiting Paris. He said something to the effect of: "You think Parisians eat baguette and croissant for breakfast! no, they eat what you and I eat, they eat cereal from a box!". That is pretty close to a quote though of necessity (ie the time lapse) may vary slightly.

what bothered me is this: bread and croissant are: artisanal (or the better ones are, and they all should/could be). a french cultural icon. and slater was implying that eating cereal was "normal" to the entire world.

my personal gripe this this is, also, that the boxed cereal that the whole world eats as normal is no better than mcdonalds or cocoa cola, in the international scheme of make a lot of money selling people this rubbish.

okay, though i like grapenuts, puffed grains, and artisanal bran flakes.

the other thing is this: hey, a lot of people still eat baguette, rustic bread, croissant for breakfast, and cafe creme, too. its lovely. its personal. cereal from a box is corporate. and a culinary icon for.......? kellogs?

Edited August 8, 2005 by marlena spieler (log)

[Bux]

Marlena, I suspect there's kind of a man bites dog sort of news in Slater's comment. If 90% of the French population eats croissants, brioche and tartine beurre for breakfast, but the rest of the world thinks that's all they eat, the fact that 5 or 10% eat cocoa puffs or corn flakes becomes news. Worse yet is that kind of news gets blown out of proportion. The other thing, and to which you allude, is that regardless of the percentages, is it more interesting to focus on our similarities or our differences? At least in this sort of situation, I'd agree with you that it's the local customs that are the interesting aspect.

For all that, when we were traveling with our daughter who must have been in college, or maybe high school, what do I remember her feeling she had to bring back for her friends? It was something like cocoa puffs, but with a funny name.

We have friends in the Bas Languedoc. They live in a tiny village. There's a boulangerie one village over. They make an attempt at baking croissants. Personally, I'd discourage the wasted efforts although they make some decent bread. Better bread and pastry comes from the nearest town, a short drive away. Thus breakfast at their house is always toast. After dinner, the remaining bread is sliced and put in a plastic bag to be toasted for breakfast. There's usually some excellent honey and maybe a local artisanal jam. There are usually some oranges to squeeze. She has tea and the rest of us have espresso. I don't know that this is typical of anything, and in fact, these are Americans.

[hjshorter]

I'm second to no one in my admiration for a crust ficelle or buttery croissant, but Cheerios with fresh fruit truly is the breakfast of champions.  It has a heft and, dare I say it?, a nutritional component that white bread, fat and preserves just don't have. 

Well said. I see nothing lamentable about choosing shredded wheat with skim milk and sliced strawberries (or a handful of blueberries) over a croissant.

I gotta agree about the Froot Loops though.

The appeal of cereal is varied. If I'm not mistaken, we get granola from Europe. Brioche and croissants don't hold you til lunch and they have to be bought fresh every morning (although I cheat once I'd learned they freeze well). The real point might be not to assume the French have any taste, just because traditionally they've not had access to bad food.   

Well said Mr Buxbaum.

[chefzadi]

article CS Monitor

bread plays an important role in the daily life of the French - but that may be changing. Many consume bread - baguettes, croissants, and brioches - at least three times a day, accompanying breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  But recent research shows that only half of young people (15 to 34 years old), consume bread in the morning.  "It's a result of the Anglo-Saxon influence," says Anne-Hélène Mangin. "In particular, young people prefer cereals for breakfast. This habit is very much on the rise, but very un-French as well.''.. he would love to have his own shop with French bread and tarts. "It may be difficult because Americans are used to soft white bread: they don't really like crusts,'' he admits.

Cereals? Quel dommage .. comment triste! Between this post today and the post on the decline of French specialty cheeses, apparently America has some atoning to do .. or do they?

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I wonder if anyone knows the ratio of articles written by the British about French food and dining habits as opposed to the number of French articles about British food and dining habits?

[marlena spieler]

Cereals? Quel dommage .. comment triste! Between this post today and the post on the decline of French specialty cheeses, apparently America has some atoning to do .. or do they?  

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I wonder if anyone knows the ratio of articles written by the British about French food and dining habits as opposed to the number of French articles about British food and dining habits?

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exactement, monsieur zadi!

marlena