So what’s more Parisian than a baguette?
Well yes cheese is but on our fourth trip to Paris we decided to travel a little deeper and to take a class on how to make the proper French Baguette. After a few google searches and checking reviews, we chose Le Foodist in the 5th arrondissement.We were scheduled for the Friday at 9:30am class. We arrived about 20 minutes early for the class but the door was locked and there was much going on inside. Knowing the French are not the most punctual we wandered around the neighborhood and arrived back at the front door at 9:25am. Still nothing so we knocked on the door.
A short time later, Florence came up the narrow cellar stairs to welcome us in. Soon after we arrived, the next two students arrived in a much more French manner then us. We were ushered down to the warm cellar where Florence was preparing for our lessons.
After donning our aprons, we quickly went to work. Florence had prepared one dough in advance, while we were instructed on how to make a second dough following her techniques. The carefully timed class allowed us to observe her lessons and also practice the techniques on our own dough. We learned various French baking techniques.
With Florence’s guidance, we managed to churn out some pretty decent looking bread.
The three hour class whipped by in a flash. We ended the class by making some French Toast using our freshly baked brioche and of course, lots of butter. Florence was kind enough to share her family’s recipe for French toast with us. The one slice of French Toast was filling enough to cover us for lunch. Yum! Now we just have to remember all the tips and tricks she showed us to bring a little bit of France back home to our kitchen in the USA.
Bon Appetit!