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B is for........


...................Boulangerie.

A boulangerie (noun) is a bakery that specialises in baking and selling bread.

Where would France be without the humble boulangerie? Our village is only small and yet we have 3 boulangeries.

Recently a large supermarket opened and we thought that this would harm the boulangeries but no the locals still go to the boulangerie for their daily bread.

Did you know that there is a law in France that states that everyone must have access to bread so that means that if you live in the tinest most remote village, you will still have access to bread as it will delivered to a drop off point in your village.

It is against the law in France to use preservatives in bread. So the baguette is made everyday in bakeries across France.


The humble French baguette

The bread is characterized by its long length, the slit cuts on top, that are actually made to enable the proper expansion of gases which in turn is responsible for the crumb or the soft inner part of the bread and the crisp delicious crust.

A baguette can almost be as long as a meter and the size is usually place or town specific.

In Paris a baguette usually weights about 250 gms. It is the bread that is known as the French bread in England and all across the world.

All this talk about bread is making me hungry so I am off to the Boulangerie to get my daily fix.

A demain,

L x
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Comments

  1. Searching for Sporadic Surprises15 February 2010 at 08:22

    What a delicious looking post!
    www.searchingforsporadicsurprises.blogspot.com

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  2. Natasha in Oz15 February 2010 at 08:43

    My mouth is watering! Please don't tell me you had your bread with a soft, runny, stinky cheese or I think I will cry!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  3. Jules15 February 2010 at 08:46

    This post is hard for me today. Our nearest big town has a bakery that makes alright bread, but, they make a superb baguette! BUT they will not sell it to you!!!!! The only way to buy it is already made up with filling (their fillings are so-so) As I like my baguette with just butter NO BAGUETTE FOR ME!!!!! I'm moving to France (As soon as I can get on a plane!)

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  4. Fabulously French15 February 2010 at 09:24

    Julienne, I had to smile when I read your post as I adore my baguette thick with "president" butter. YOu can take the girl out of "kiwi land" but you cannot take the kiwi out of the girl.

    Leeann x

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  5. Ange15 February 2010 at 09:37

    Leeann- I haven't had breakfast yet either so I'm off for some baguette myself. Before I go - you should do a post about the French café as well. Don't forget there's also one in every village - Either called the 'café de la gare' (even if the 'gare' is long gone) or called the café de la poste ;-) Have a great day. i am starting to feel better so had better get back to posting again soon! Bisous with lots of baguetty breadcrumbs Budgie

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  6. Sarah Elizabeth15 February 2010 at 09:40

    When I lived in France my favourite part of the day was going to my local boulangerie to buy my baguette. I loved the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the door and down the street, the friendliness of the staff and chatting with other customers as you waited for the freshest batch to come out of the oven - so much better altogether than supermarket shopping.

    I'd forgotten about the bread being delivered to villages every day. Once I was on a canal holiday in Burgundy and usually we'd stop over night in a village. One night however, we didn't make it to the next village in time and had to tie up in the middle of nowhere. The next morning we walked for 2 hours to the nearest village where we'd heard we could find some bread. We stopped and asked someone where there was a boulangerie and were surprised when they directed us to the Town Hall. We waited outside for 5 minutes or so until the door was opened by the mayor himself who sold us the tastiest baguette I've ever eaten!

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  7. Heidi15 February 2010 at 09:43

    I LOVE the french baquettes!
    And it's so nice to hear the story about french bread.

    greetings Heidi

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  8. Greet Lefèvre15 February 2010 at 09:51

    Nothing is better than a French baguette or pain intégral or any other delicious French bread! Sometimes we want it so bad that we drive half an hour away to go to Lille(in France) to pick up a French baguette!
    The images here are making me jealous of you living in France!
    Have a very good week Leeann!
    xx
    Greet

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  9. She Wore It Well15 February 2010 at 10:25

    Yummy

    x

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  10. A Room For Everyone15 February 2010 at 10:41

    Mmm, I can smell them. Now, that's the way to live..freshly baked bread every day.. R x

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  11. Vær våken15 February 2010 at 10:42

    I like those French laws! I get kind of hungry reading this!! Btw, I have an award for you over at my blog! Feel free to do whatever you feel with it. Just an appreciation on your gorgeous blog:)

    xoxo, Kristin

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  12. Tina15 February 2010 at 11:29

    Leeann, now I am craving bread (and I am not normally a bread eater!) Especially with the previous posts about baguette with butter, oh you are bad influences;) Love this post. Will be getting to France as soon as I can, I love their laws!!! Happy day to you Leeann ~ Tina x

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  13. Unknown15 February 2010 at 11:37

    Ooooh yum!! These look so amazing! I'm drooling .... :-)

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  14. Marina Saclley @ Iced VoVo's15 February 2010 at 12:04

    Oh yes ... that beautiful smell ... the warm touch as you reach out to grab it ... the melting butter as you spread it ....

    Usually I cant wait till I get mine home ... i take big chunks off of it before I get home!!

    Great post Leanne.
    xx

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  15. Semi Expat15 February 2010 at 12:34

    Oh how delicious.... France would NOT be a good place to be on a no carbs. diet.. (not that I ever have I hasten to add!) and those baguettes look amazing...

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  16. Zita - Mlle Magpie15 February 2010 at 13:04

    I thought you were going to see B is for Baguette! Well, Boulangerie and Baguette do go hand-in-hand, don't they, Leeann :) p.s. when I lived in France, I would always ask for "pas trop cru"

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  17. Unknown15 February 2010 at 14:46

    Such an interesting post, and those baguettes look so yummy!

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  18. The Simply Luxurious Life15 February 2010 at 15:58

    Loving that there is such a law as no preservatives! It has been 10 years since I've been in France, and I can still remember the smell of th boulangeries as I would walk to school in the morning - delicious!

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  19. Jodi Kendall15 February 2010 at 16:01

    such a great post! I love all the insight into French bread, laws, bakeries, etc! I learned something new today - thanks for sharing :)

    Lovely blog.... now I'm craving a baguette.

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  20. hostess of the humble bungalow15 February 2010 at 17:16

    Oh the French, they are great in so many ways...what an amazing idea to have a law that Bread be available everywhere!!
    I think I would need a personal trainer if I could buy bread that looked like that everyday! I can smell it from here!

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  21. Low Tide High Style15 February 2010 at 17:32

    Oh, this makes me long for the sights and smells of the tiny boulangeries in the south of France that we went to when we visited our daughter. I certainly don't need a pain au chocolat, but I dearly want one!

    Kat :)

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  22. Jacqueline @ HOME15 February 2010 at 17:58

    Mmmm, my favourite.
    There is no nicer sight than someone walking down the lane with french bread in their arms, off home to eat it with a cup of coffee and some sort of preserve. Delicious.... and I love the fact that you have to have access to it in France.
    We could do with a tradition like that here in the U.K. Leeann. XXXX

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  23. Draffin Bears15 February 2010 at 23:41

    Hi Leeann,

    The smell coming from the boulangerie was delightful ~ I remember that and to be able to buy baguettes and croissants ~ yummmmm!
    Thanks for sharing this delightful post.

    Happy week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  24. vmmp16 February 2010 at 01:24

    mon petit garçon adore la baguette! - saying hello from haute-normandie here =)

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  25. Brabourne Farm16 February 2010 at 04:14

    If I close my eyes I'm in the boulangerie with you - I swear I can smell the delicious baguettes! Leigh

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  26. Lili16 February 2010 at 04:28

    What a feast for the eyes those images are. The smell must be heavenly. That's so cool about the French laws about bread. ~Lili

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  27. FEDERICA16 February 2010 at 11:06

    Thanks for entered my giveaway!
    Good luck!
    Federica
    xoxo

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  28. Andi16 February 2010 at 23:43

    I miss my daily baguette from the village my husband and I used to live in. There is nothing like the smell, the taste, the texture of fresh bread - there is NO substitute! Discovered you through A Taste of Garlic!

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