from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
www.flickr.com/photos/houseofhall/8422489736/
www.flickr.com/photos/mcflossy/2201482114/
Pain – Bread; is the most basic of all foods. Of course, if you are like Marie Antoinette, you can get along with cake alone. (Pain is pronounced pan, with the n being light, almost indiscernible). I cannot list all the different types of bread available in France as that would require a separate book, possibly three or four. However, I have noted the most popular types of bread seen in the boulangeries, bakeries, supermarkets, hotel breakfast menus, and restaurants. I have included a few others where I liked their names or their history:
Pain a l'Ail – Garlic bread. In France, this may be any bread
flavored with garlic and then toasted.
Pain au Blé Noir or Pain au Sarrasin – Buckwheat flour bread.
Pain au Froment - Bread made from 100% wheat flour. Pain au froment with a percentage mark after the name indicates mixed flours. An example may be froment 75%; the other flour used for the remaining 25% will usually be displayed.
Pain au froment.
Bread made with 100% wheat flour.
Photograph
courtesy of Emily Carlin
www.flickr.com/photos/emiline220/4273700153/
Pain au Levain - Sourdough bread. Sourdough bread may be made from wheat or rye flour, and ingredients such as honey may be added. Before any additions, sourdough bread is flour, water, salt, and a culture of yeast and lactic acid bacteria. The taste of sourdough bread is slightly acidic, and there are different aromas that the acid and yeast create.
Pain au Son - Bran Bread. Bran bread has the bran added to
refined wheat flour (from which it was initially removed). Bran comes from the
hard outer layers of the grain. There is 20% to 30% bran in pain au son. Pain
au son is a bread recommended to improve your digestion. You don't need bran
bread if you always eat whole wheat bread.
Pain aux Noix - Walnut bread; made
with whole wheat flour and walnuts. Walnuts are France's most highly rated nut.
The French name for a walnut is "noix," and that word just translates
as "nut." All other nuts have unique French names added to the word
noix, while the walnut is "the nut."
Pain au Noix - Walnut Bread.
Photograph
courtesy of Bart Everson.
www.flickr.com/photos/editor/8562384993/
Pain aux Raisins - The name for a Viennoiserie made with raisins. Viennoiseries are the name the French have given to their local equivalent of Danish pastries. The pastry used is mostly a puff pastry, somewhat similar to that used for croissants. The name links back to France's love for Viennese pastries.
Pain Azymes, Pain sans Levain or Pain Juif – See Pain sans Levain.
Pain Baguette - The most well-known of French breads. A standard baguette is thin and almost 70 cm (28") long and weighs 250 grams (9 ounces). NB: French breads do not have legal weights or sizes that cover every producer. To ensure that the consumer knows what they are being sold, every boulangerie and supermarket must clearly mark the weight of each type of bread they sell.
Breakfast in many French homes is not breakfast without a baguette.
However, despite their popularity, baguettes are considered a Parisian bread,
and outside Paris other breads may be preferred. An important reason for
choosing another bread is the short shelf-life of a baguette. NB: The word
baguette also means a wand and a baton. Thinner and lighter baguettes are
called ficelles. (See Pain Ficelle and Pain Flûte below). N.B. The word baguette also means a
wand and a baton. Thinner and lighter baguettes are called ficelles. (See Pain
Ficelle, and Pain Flûte below)).
There are
two schools of thought when it comes to buying a baguette:
The first
school prefers crisp baguettes. To order a crisp and crunchy baguette, use the
term for a well-done steak, bien cuite (pronounced bien kweet). Just
say un
baguette bien kwee sil voo play.
The second school prefers a soft baguette. Just say pas trop cuite, not well done (pronounced pah trop kweet). Just say un baguette pa trop kweet sil voo play, and you will be offered a baguette with a soft crust. (The sil voo play is written s'il vous plait and means please).
The early morning baguette
when nothing else will do for breakfast.
Photograph
courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/479221077/
Pain Baguette a l'Ail - Garlic
bread; here, it is made with a toasted baguette.
Pain Baguette au Levain or a Baguette Paresseuse - Sourdough Baguettes. There seems to be a strange history to the second name,Paresseuse as most dictionaries used to translate une paresseuse as ‘ a lazy girl.’ (Google Translate has become politically correct and changed the translation of une paresseuse to ‘a lazy person’). While no one I asked knew the origin of this name, no one seemed to object to its continued usage.
Pain Baguette de Tradition (La) –The traditional baguette. The original baguette only dates from the 1920s, and then it was made without any preservatives. The visual differences between traditional baguettes and today's mass-produced baguettes are not easily discerned, though many hand-made traditional baguettes have pointed ends. Search out a boulangerie that makes a "baguette traditional" and experience different tastes and textures. Baguettes are such a prominent part of the French psyche that I have prepared a separate post for those who look for the traditional baguette. The traditional baguette contains no chemical preservatives at all; it will be fresh for just two or three hours and after five hours, forget about it. For the post on La Baguette de Tradition click here.
La
Baguette de Tradition – A traditional baguette.
Photograph courtesy of La
Boulangerie du Château
This boulangerie was a winner of the Best Bakery of
France award, La Meilleure Boulangerie de France. You will find them in the
town of Comines just north of the city of Lille.
To find this year's winner Google:
“Concours National de la Meilleure Baguette de Tradition Française”
Pain Bâtard – A bastard; the name used
in boulangeries that make their own bread for any loaf that comes out of the
oven in an odd shape.
Pain Beignets – French for a donut and many forms of deep-fried dough. At breakfast, a French beignet, pronounced bay-nyay, will be sprinkled with Sucre Pâtissier, powdered sugar. A pain beignet will be on many French café’ menus, with some filled with apples or other fruits.
Donuts with a hole in
the center are called Beignets Américains,
American Donuts, and they are available nearly everywhere..
Pain beignets and cafe
au lait for breakfast.
Photograph
courtesy of thotfulspot
www.flickr.com/photos/thotfulspot/3812527313/
Pain Beurrée or Tartine Beurrée – A sliced baguette or other French bread; served in French homes with butter alongside the morning's café au lait, a milky coffee. In a French café, this tartine beurrée would be noted on the breakfast menu and offered with marmalade or jam on the side. N.B. The word tartine also indicates a sandwich, usually an open sandwich.
Pains Biologiques, Pain Bio – Organic bread. Organic bread, marked with the government regulated and respected A.B. marking. Organic bread begins with organic agriculture and the organic flour produced. Any organic flour may be used, but all additives must be 95% organic. Within the limitations of these less than 100% organic additives, the French and E.U. regulations are much stricter than those in the USA or Canada.
Pain Blanc – Standard white bread. The shapes may be different from those at home.
Pain Boule or Boule de Pain – A round loaf made from a ball of dough. Before
the baguette became famous in the 1920s, the boule was considered, by France's
citizens and visitors to France, to be the "French bread." Then and
now, many families, especially those outside the larger cities, still place a
large boule on the French breakfast table rather than a baguette. Unlike
thinner breads, a pain boule will stay fresh for two or three days. The name
boule means a ball, and boule gave its name to the word Boulanger, the baker of
round-shaped bread. From that name came Boulangeries, baker's shops.
A boule de pain on sale.
Photograph
courtesy of Frédéric BISSON
www.flickr.com/photos/zigazou76/4371706375/
Pain Boulot – Another name for pain boule; a
round loaf.
Pain Brié - A traditional wheat-based bread from Normandy. The bread is made with butter, which gives it a decidedly different taste. It has no connection to Brie, the cheese. The dough is shaped into long, narrow loaves with tapered ends and then scored with diagonal slashes to create a distinctive striped pattern on the crust. The bread is baked at a high temperature, which creates a crispy, golden crust.
Pain Brié.
Photograph
courtesy of Frédéric Bisson.
www.flickr.com/photos/zigazou76/4626256502/
Pain Brioché – Brioche is bread made with
added eggs, butter, and a little sugar; the shape will vary with local
traditions, as does the exact recipe. A brioché will often be the bread of
choice when a recipe calls for bread stuffed with meats or pâté. Pates or other
products cooked inside bread will be on the menu with the words en croute as
part of the name; for example, Pâté En Croûte. Toasted brioché is the bread
most often served alongside foie gras, fattened goose, or duck liver.
Recipes for a brioché vary considerably, and a
brioché branded with the name of a particular area will be a local point of
pride. Brioché is also the bread considered closest in taste and appearance to
one of the loaves of bread baked for the Jewish Sabbath and called a
"challah" or "egg challah."
A brioche.
Photograph
courtesy of Frédéric Bisson.
www.flickr.com/photos/zigazou76/4372463992/
Pain Brioché de Vendée, Label Rouge - A traditional braided brioche from the department of Vendée in the region of the Pays-de-Loire. The inclusion in the recipe of crème fraîche and orange zest gives this brioche its distinctive taste. This brioché began as an unusually large brioché, often over five kilos. Then it was made at home or in a bakery and served at Easter. Even larger briochés would be and often still are, served at family celebrations. Today the authentic Briochés de Vendée, those awarded the Label Rouge, the red label, are baked by professionals. The importance of the quality of this brioché is seen in the named and inspected bakeries that bake this unique Pain Brioché de Vendée. These are the only brioches and the only French bread I know of to have been awarded the French Label Rouge, the Red Label, for consistent and unmatched quality. (Gâche was the original name of the Pain Brioché de Vendée).
Brioché de Nanterre - A rectangular brioché from Nanterre. Nanterre is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, the western suburbs of Paris.
Brioché Parisienne –The
Parisian brioché. This brioché is made by forming the base in a fluted mold
with a smaller round ball of dough set on top.
Brioché Tressée de Metz - This braided brioché is
associated with the city of Metz, the prefecture of the department of Moselle.
Metz was the capital of the region of Lorraine in North-Eastern France that, on
1-1-2016, became part of the new administrative region of the Grand
Est. The capital of the Grande Est is Strasbourg.
Craquelin - A cracker or biscuit or a brioché-type pastry; take your pick. There are now tens of varieties of craquelins with all their histories attributed to a Belgian pastry called suikerbrood. Craquelins are similar to a French brioche but made with sugar lumps inside, placed there before cooking. The original version, Belgian or Dutch, depends on who you talk to, is or was made in loaves or individual portions. The hardtop of the loaf, which is also covered with sugar, gave the cracker or brioché its French name as it "cracks" as you cut or bite into it.
Pogne or Pogne de Romans - A brioche-type cake flavored with orange and lemon zest; traditional in the area of the Rhône-Alpes. The modern variations often include rum or another eau-de-vie accent. As you travel in the Rhône-Alpes and look at local menus, you will find towns and villages that have created variations with slight changes in the recipe and the name. You may be told that the name is linked to the Romans, but it’s probably a medieval recipe, and the word Romans comes from the Occitan language.
Pain Campagrain – Under this name are sold several different
high fiber breads; campagrain bread uses two to five grains or more. The grains
used include wheat, malted corn, rye, oats, barley, etc. Some bakers may
include sunflower, sesame, and flax seeds; usually, all the grains used are
marked along with the percentages. The shapes of Campagrain bread vary considerably,
and you may also find campagrain baguettes.
Pain Complet - Whole wheat bread. Whole wheat bread
contains the germs and bran from the wheat, removed when refined white flour is
produced. The bran contributes to the bread's high fiber content, and whole
wheat bread contains wheat germ. The wheat germ contains many nutrients,
including vitamin E and folate, essential for a healthy heart. Vitamin E also
promotes healthy skin and hair.
Pain Couronne – A ring-shaped loaf of bread with a hole in the
middle; the French name translates as a crown. Couronnes still have a loyal
following because they keep well, as do other round loaves, but this one is
easier to slice. There are two popular sizes, a petit (small) and a grande
(large), and every bakery must display their loaf's weights. Like baguettes,
some patrons prefer a regular crust, and there are those who prefer their's
croustillant, with a crispy crust.
Pain Cramique – A bread similar to pain brioché but including
raisins.
Pain Croûte à Potage or a Potage son sous Béret -
A bread crust used to cover soups and a béret is a beret, the head covering, in
English. This bread covering may appear on the menu under various names, not
only béret.
A soup or
stew covered with a bread covering may also surprise you when it appears on
your table without any prior advice. NB: These coverings are rarely designed to
be eaten.
Pain d'Épice - Gingerbread seems to be more appreciated in France than in any other country; many of its producers are considered artists. It is made with wheat, rye, or mixed flours flavored with ginger and sweetened with honey. Depending on the recipe, other spices including nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon, may be added. French gingerbread will often be studded with candied fruits, or served with warm chocolate and or ice cream. Gingerbread is also used to create imaginative window displays and unique birthday cakes. One of the most famous types of French gingerbread is the Pain d'Épices de Dijon, the gingerbread of Dijon. Dijon may be renowned for its mustard, but its gingerbread is second to none among the cognoscenti.
A gingerbread house.
Too good to eat?
Photograph
courtesy of Kermitfrog :-D.
www.flickr.com/photos/muriel67/3089351975/
Pain de Campagne or Pain Miche - Country
bread. This bread may have many recipes and shapes. The flour used may be
standard wheat flour, whole wheat flour, or
mixed flours. Nevertheless, real Pain de Campagne is made with natural
leavening, not commercial yeast. The taste is mild and somewhat similar to
American sourdough bread, making for an enjoyably chewy bread and crust.
Pain de Campagne
Photograph courtesy of
Bryan Alexander
www.flickr.com/photos/bryanalexander/2418729465/
Pain de Gênes – An almond paste cake.Pain de Mais - Cornbread.
Pain Miche - (See Pain de
Campagne).
Pain de Mie or Pain Carré - Pain de Mie directly
translated means soft bread, and Pain Carré means square bread. The French will
use this square, soft bread for sandwiches as it is often sold sliced; it will
also be used for toast. For those used to sliced British sandwich bread, this
is the nearest you'll find to it in France.
Pain de Mie.
Photograph
courtesy of RDPixelShop
www.flickr.com/photos/dpbear/6218572961/
Pain de Siegel or Pain Noir - Rye
bread. Rye bread is made with different percentages from the flours made with
rye grain. It is higher in fiber than white bread, darker in color, and more
robust in flavor.
Pain Déjeunette – A shorter than usual baguette;
about one-third the length of a full-sized baguette. The name déjeunette
implies that it is enough for a petit déjeuner, which means for breakfast. A
Déjeunette is about one-third the length of a full-sized baguette. Sandwiches sold a lunchtime street food will often be made with a déjeunette.
Déjeunettes
Photograph
courtesy of Vandemoortele
Pain Doré - Golden bread; one of the names for
French toast. See Pain Perdu.
Pain Ficelle – The word ficelle translates as a string, and this
is a long thin loaf, shorter than a baguette. A ficelle weighs around 125 grams
(4.50 grams); you will want to eat it the same day as it will be stale by
morning. Outside of bakeries and supermarkets, the word ficelle may be on your
menu with meanings unrelated to bread.
Bœuf en Ficelle - Beef tied by a string and cooked while suspended
above and in a boiling broth.
Ficelle Picardie - A crêpe stuffed
with mushrooms, ham, and poultry. The finished
crêpe is baked in a béchamel sauce with Gruyere cheese and served gratinée.
Pain Flûte – A longer and thicker version of
a baguette. Flûtes were around for at least 50 years before baguettes were
officially recognized in 1919. While there are no legal definitions for a
flute, most will weigh about 400 grams (14 ounces); compare that with a
baguette that weighs about 250 grams (9 ounces).
Pain Forgeron – A farmhouse-type bread with added sunflower, sesame
seeds, and flax seeds.
Pain Fougasse or Fougassette – A traditional bread originated
in the City of Nice and
the surrounding villages in Provence. The fougasse was originally just a crusty
bread made of baguette dough brushed with olive oil and flavored with orange
zest. That is still the tradition, but many Fougasse versions have changed
beyond recognition. Without a change of name, the Fougasse and Fougassette now
come with a wide variety of shapes, recipes, and flavors spread all over
Provence and beyond. The provenance of this bread is claimed by the Italians,
who point to their focaccia bread. Nevertheless, in Provence, no recipe is
written in stone, and most of today's Fougasse breads have limited connections to any Italian ancestors.
Fougasse
Photograph courtesy
of Ben Demey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fritobandito/376110873/
Pain Grillé or Toast – Toasted bread; toast. The French word toster came
to England from France with the Norman invasion in 1066, where it meant grilled
or to grill. The French took home the Anglicized word toast and now use it with
its modern English meaning. Today, the word toast is just as popular as the
correct French name for toasted bread, pain grille. For more about the French
connection and the English kitchen, click here.
Gros Pain - A large bread sold in various shapes and sizes
and traditionally sold by weight.
Pain Maison – Homemade bread.
Pain Nordique – See Pain Polaire.
Pain Parisien – Another name for a standard baguette;
however, the name may also be used for bread shaped like a baguette but with
different lengths and weights. (See Pain Baguette).
Pain Perdu - French toast. In French, the translation of pain perdu means lost bread, indicating bread considered too stale to use. Despite the name, one of the few things you can do with stale bread is to make French toast. The original French version of French toast is bread soaked in milk with added sugar and vanilla or another flavoring. The bread will then be dipped in eggs and fried in butter until golden brown.
Pain perdu is popular at breakfast or as a light evening snack in private homes.
Pain Rassis – Stale
bread; this could become pain perdu.
Pain sans Levain, Pain Azymes, or Pain Juif – Unleavened bread and the French name for the traditional Jewish matzo eaten during the Jewish Feast of Passover.
Pains Spéciaux – Specialty breads; this may be on a sign in a specialty baker's shop. The offering can include bread made with seeds from Épeautre or Petit Épeautre, Spelt or Dinkel Wheat, or Small Spelt or Einkorn, whose seeds come from the ancestors of modern wheat. Specialty breads may also be made with unique mixtures of grains and seeds, added fats, sweeteners, and dairy products; most will be marked with short explanations.
Petit Pains - Bread rolls; there are different names for each shape and recipe used for the traditional bread rolls offered in a restaurant or sold in a supermarket. However, the only name you will need for a bread roll is petite pain. Unless you are dining in a place with many tourists, your bread rolls will be served without butter on the side. That is how most Frenchmen and women eat bread in a restaurant before lunch or dinner. Still, you are paying the piper, so just say "du beurre s'il vous plaît" (pronounced doo bur si voo play), and butter will appear. N.B.: that's usually lightly salted butter.
Tartine - At breakfast, a Tartine Beurrée means bread and butter.
However,
Tartine is also the French word for an open sandwich, and the word Tartine will
often be used interchangeably with the English word sandwich. While most
Tartines are open sandwiches, that is by no means a rule set in stone; the
ingredients in or on a Tartine vary with the area, the season, and the
sandwich's creator.
Tartine with avocado, smoked salmon,
and fresh goat’s cheese.
Tartine Beurrée or Pain Beurrée - Bread and
butter.
Tartine Italienne – The French take on the Italian
bruschetta. Slices of toasted bread, sometimes toasted garlic bread; served
with hot or cold cooked vegetables, chicken livers, or pate.
Bread in the language of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - pa), (Dutch - brood), (German - brot), (Italian - pane), (Spanish – pan).
