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.
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; 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 culture ferments the flour; this fermentation
releases carbon dioxide and allows the dough to rise. The taste of sourdough
leavened bread is slightly acidic, and there are different aromas that lactic
acid and acetic acid give off.
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
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 almost 70 cm (28") long, thin, and weighs 250 grams
(9 ounces). Breakfast in many French homes is not breakfast without a baguette.
Despite the baguettes' popularity, it is considered a Parisian bread, and many
families outside Paris prefer other breads. 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 cuit (pronounced bien kwee). Just
say un
baguette bien kwee sil voo play.
The second
school prefers a soft baguette. Just say pas trop cuit, not well done
(pronounced pah trop kwee). Just say un baguette pa trop kwee 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 Stephan Rosger
www.flickr.com/photos/56183874@N08/5260049347/
Pain Baguette a l'Ail - The
same as Pain a l'Ail, toasted garlic
bread; here, it is made with a toasted baguette.
Pain Baguette au Levain or a Baguette Paresseuse -
Sourdough Baguettes. The word paresseuse in Google Translate and most
French-English online travel dictionaries translates the word as "lazy
girl ."While no one I asked knew the origin of this no longer politically
correct name, no one seemed to object to its continued usage either. Where a
baguette paresseuse is concerned, tradition is tradition. Nevertheless,
traditions have changed where servers (waiters and waitresses) are concerned.
You may no longer call a server, a waiter, a garçon. If you call a server, a
waiter, a boy, a "garçon" (pronounced gar-son), you may end up with
the soup in your lap or the tray on your head. Address a server, a waiter, as
Monsieur, and a waitress as Madame. N.B. Do not use Mademoiselle for a waitress
if she is over fourteen years old. Outside of a family setting, Mademoiselle
has a low-life connotation.
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 Baguette au Levain – A
sourdough baguette.
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 for breakfast. Shorter than a regular
baguette, about one-third of a full-sized baguette's length. The name
déjeunette implies that it is enough for a petit déjeuner for breakfast.
Sandwiches offered in French Tabac will often be made with a déjeunette.
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. (Beignet is pronounced bay-net). A
Beignet will be a breakfast or dessert pastry sprinkled with Sucre Pâtissier -
Confectioners' sugar. Pain beignets are nothing like a donut with a hole in the
center; donuts with holes in France are called Beignets Américain, American
donuts, and they are available in the big cities. In the picture below, the
pain beignet will be on many French café menus with some filled with apples or
other fruits.
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 Bis - Brown bread made with rye flour.
Pain Blanc – White bread.
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 and has no connection to Brie, the cheese. The
addition of butter gives this bread a decidedly different taste.
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 brioché type cake flavored with orange and lemon zest; supposedly traditional in the area of the Rhône Alps since Roman times. The modern variations often include rum or another eau-de vie accent. As you travel in the Rhône-Alps and look at local menus, you will find towns and villages that have created their variations with slight changes in the recipe and the name.
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. French
gingerbread will often be studded with candied fruits; others may be on a menu
when 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 famous for its mustard, but its gingerbread
is second to none among the cognoscenti. Gingerbread is made with wheat, rye,
or mixed flours flavored with ginger and
sweetened with honey. Depending on the
tradition, other spices, including nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon, may be added.
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 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
offered in a French Tabac 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 can only have the most
limited connection to any Italian ancestors.
Fougasse bread with many flavors.
Photographed
on sale in the St Tropez market
Photograph
by courtesy of Monica Arellano-Ongpin
www.flickr.com/photos/maong/6896703741
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 Polaire, also called Pain Suédois and Pain Nordique -
Polar bread, Swedish bread, or Nordic bread; this is the traditional a
rye-flour-based flatbread with dimples.
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.
Pain Tresse – Braided bread; usually a brioché.
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. Every French home will
have bread and butter in the morning, but bread rolls in a restaurant are
another story.
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).
