Behind the scenes of a baguette

Who would have thought that flour can actually flow in pipelines??? That's exactly what I discovered when I visited the oldest boulangerie of Paris - Au Grand Richelieu in the Opera district. I went for a 1 hour tour organized by a travel agency, that took 10 of us behind the scenes of the boulangerie to witness the making of the famous baguettes among other things. It was one of the most interesting experiences I have had!

The boulangerie, that makes 400 baguettes each day, will be celebrating its 200 years in 2010...so it felt really special being there! The artisan-baker demonstrated the entire process of making a baguette, and imparted a great deal of knowledge as well...including the fact that a truck delivers to them 3 tonnes of flour each week, which flows through a pipeline into a stock room, and from there it again goes out to different rooms in the unit through pipes. The process actually takes a long time because the dough needs to be left to ferment several times for hours...and that is why the bakers start working at midnight, for the bread to be ready by 7 am! Also learnt that a baguette in France in supposed to be 250 grams...it can be 255 but not 249! The difference between the fresh dough and the fermented one was huge. It actually rises to about 4 times its size...no wonder baguettes are sooooo fluffy and soft from the inside! And the dough before being baked is in fact 350 grams...since during baking it loses 100 grams of water. An amusing part was hearing the bread cracking after it's brought into the cool air from the blazing-hot-oven! In French, they actually say that the bread is “singing”. It was really interesting to see the equipment and understand the whole process...but of course, the best part was tasting the baguette. It was, without doubt, the best I have ever had! So golden and fresh and crisp on the outside...and so soft and fluffy inside!!!

Ever wondered why baguettes become rock-hard when they’re stale? Cos it’s illegal in France to add preservatives in the bread. That’s why everyone buys fresh bread from their Boulanger every single day! And oh...an even more amazing piece of information...bakeries can’t go on strike in France!!! Because apparently the French can’t live a day without bread!!! I wish they had the same rule for the public transport...but that would just be wishful thinking!!!