Thursday, March 24, 2011

Good bread is hard to find.


Last night I had the pleasure of viewing a documentary titled "Kings of Pastry" which described the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, which roughly translates to the "Best craftsman in France" contest. The "MOF" competition is held once every four years, and out of 70 applicants from around the world for this year's competition - only 16 were chosen to compete. The film follows several master pastry chefs as they prepare for a three day competition in which they must produce a sugar sculpture, a smaller sculpture called a "bijoux", numerous cakes, chocolates, cream puffs and a wedding cake just to name a few. The pressure and stress that these artists endure is insane! Creating a showpiece while several world-renowned judges look over your shoulder has got to be challenging.

I've always been amazed by the passion and craftsmanship that European bakeries knead in to their creations. My father was born and raised in southern Germany, so I am no stranger to "good bread" and "real pastry". He considers bread to be a building block of society. Upon my last trip to Bavaria, I saw one of the new "instant bakeries" that have caused such a commotion. These large vending machines actually "bake" your rolls to order while you wait, and they have stirred a heated debate over how bread should be sold in Germany. An uproar over bread you say? Yes. And it's quite serious. It is this passion and zeal for top-quality pastry that drives the chefs depicted in the documentary. My father knows no boundaries when it comes to acquiring that "certain taste" and texture he holds so dear. However it is painfully obvious that the US does not hold these staples in such high regard as our eastern brethren. There are options though - my father orders his loaves by the dozen from a German baker in Texas, and has them shipped FedEx to his door. Which makes each loaf cost about $15 dollars, but that is a pittance if you truly appreciate good bread.

Slowly we are seeing an increased interest in pastry, and I'm not referring to the plethora of "cupcake shops", or those "cakes" made from foam and massive chunks of Rice Crispy treats, that seem to be the rage in America. Those cakes wouldn't make it through the door of any self-respecting patisserie or bakery in Europe. Maybe good bread is hard to find due to the recent war on carbs, but I think it runs deeper than that. True, many Americans have not experienced anything other than "Wonder bread" with the crusts cut off, but is it any surprise since our global economy continues to squeeze out the little guy while replacing their hand-crafted baguettes with enriched-flour breads that are shelf-stable for weeks?

The documentary was very entertaining and I found myself gasping several times throughout the show, both at the amazing creations and their subsequent destruction. It also lends some insight into the serious nature of baking cakes. I chuckled when one of the chef's presented his cake to a colleague for his review. The chef analyzed the texture, the height, the artistic qualities etc, and then provided his feedback to the stress-laden chef. His response? "The cake is really yellow. It's a bit odd." The creator looked slightly deflated, and explained that the color of the egg yolks in France were much more yellow than those in the USA, causing the yellow hue to be more pronounced. The cake looked delicious, and certainly the yellow crumb was not overstated, but it's just another example of the precision and artistry that these chefs demand and expect of their pastry - and their chefs!

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