Knapsacks and Breadcrumbs

Written Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 by Theresa H Hall

As a child, whenever I heard about something exciting, I would act out the drama and become involved in the moment. Whether it was playing a character from Zorro, swimming fast like Tarzan, solving a mystery with Nancy Drew or running away with The Boxcar Children, everything was an adventure to me and my fertile imagination always led me right inside Robin Hood's forest or to sit at King Arthur's round table. At one time, I thought I might  join the circus. And when we lived in Miami, Florida I was always tempted to look for Flipper, every time I was on the seashore. I explored creeks and the woods without fear and swung from the limbs of trees and rode my bicycle as if it were a trusty steed. I had an exciting and full childhood.

Tonight I watched a DVD produced by Richard Bertinet, a French Chef, who is also a celebrated author and who now runs his own cooking school in Bath, England. This is the reason I went into detail on my enthusiastic abandon I felt as a child, because I wanted you to understand some of the excitement, the way I felt as I viewed this master working with fermented doughs. Watching the way he took sticky flour, yeast, salt, sugar and eggs and begin to mold them, shape them into a creation unfolding right before my eyes. During this particular demonstration that I watched he made Brioche.

I learned to prepare this recipe at LAC a prestigious culinary school, using a Kitchen Aide mixer. I was taught to allow the gluten to form and not to add in the butter until the dough was strong enough to accept it. Chef Bertinet worked and folded and slapped this concoction for a good ten minutes or more before he added in the softened room temperature butter. He continued, in his quiet and self assured manner to work the rich dough of this breakfast bread, which is more akin to a cake bread. He blended the butter repetitively and rhythmically, until the perfect consistency was met. It rested for two hours, was manipulated again and covered to rise for fourteen more hours. With this recipe you must take your time. It's probably the reason it is enjoyed in the morning. Just the aroma of this dough before it is shaped, when he gently separates the risen dough from the sides of the stainless steel bowl with the scraper, just is heady, this smell which fills the air. He says much the same.

He then proceeded to prepare the dough to be cut into portions that he weighed on a scale. Shaping these portions into soft balls he added seven to a bread pan for the Nanterre loaf, and then shaped a tete, smaller brioche with a little knob on the top. These he placed carefully into a muffin-like pan. Next they were allowed to proof for another two hours. The tops were brushed with eggs white and baked to a deep golden perfection. I dare anyone to try to resist this bread just taken from the oven. Sorry, you have to wait while they lie cooling on their sides, before you are permitted to tear them into mouth sized bites. Waiting is worth it for it is like a delicious bite of heaven.

Chef Bertinet presents his methods for baking a variety of breads, baguettes, sourdoughs, Poolish, Flamiche, bagels and pretzels, in such a way that you want to gather these few ingredients together and turn your own kitchen into a little bakery. He makes me want to pack my knapsack and  run away to his school in Bath, England. He makes me want to bake his breads.

As a  graduate of French Pastry Arts, I love this book and the enchanting way it is written. It is one of the twenty cookbooks in my kitchen's library because it is a valuable addition to my small repertoire of culinary literature. You will most assuredly be pleased with Chef Bertinet and his cookbook, CRUST.

To read more about this culinary award winner, please visit him here. I'm going to bake some bread and fill my knapsack, or I will as soon as I save up for my next vacation. That I intend to add in some quality schooling that coincides with my overseas visit, seems like a very good idea.