I have not been to France, so cannot compare, but I am always on the hunt for the best baguettes and other breads available. We have two excellent french bakeries in my little town so I don't have to search too far.. But when I can't get to the bakery or they are sold out of baguettes, I can say that these are excellent. Made in France (with French flour, I presume) and found in the frozen food section of TJ's. Finish baking at home. They are pretty terrific.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/mini-french-baguettes-062839

Those Made in France frozen baguettes sound and look by the photos pretty good Olychick. Bakeries do fly in pre risen dough from all over the place to here, though mainly from New Zealand.

However, I have not seen any from France.

As many have pointed out, and thanks, there are many variables to baking bread.

Let’s not forget that morning French baguettes go almost hard and stale by the afternoon, requiring another trip to the Boulangerie.

Sorry, I just saw you are in Australia, so the TJ's is probably not an option. But maybe someone else will find the info useful. Hope you have success either making or finding some that you fancy!

Over here, there are baguettes and baguettes. I like different types depending on what we're eating. For sandwiches, I like the ones that don't break your teeth....... some here are wonderful and some are dreadful.....; I bet whatever you can buy at home is just as good, really!

I find those TJ frozen baguettes that are par-baked are never as good from a proper bakery in France, but are often better than those available already cooked.. The quality can vary in France, from true artisan bakeries to supermarkets using frozen pre-formed loafs. Still, the poor examples in the US are another tier below, often too heavy, too tough or too spongy. We have six bakeries within a couple of blocks of our apartment in france. Depending on the day of the week, the type of bread and pastries I'm fetching for breakfast, I might choose one or another.

I went straight for #3. I tried to make two sandwich rolls and the rest into dinner rolls. I managed to smoosh the ends of the sandwich rolls under the edge of my inverted DO, then overbaked them. The dinner rolls proofed into each other so I just threw them onto the baking steel like that rather than mess with them. Probably 7 or 8 decent rolls in all, and my kids scarfed them sll down and asked me to make them often. Sandwich rolls will get turkey meatloaf in them when my wife gets home. But based on the kids' reaction I think we have a winner!

Edit - Turkey meatloaf sandwiches (Giada’s meatloaf) have been eaten and I see why rhe kids loved the bread. I definitely need to work on a few things but I’m so happy with the first results!

Good on you for jumping right in! Why i suggested going straight for the third. And no need to buy special tools. Scrounge around and use what you have. DH has been the bread baker for 20+ years and just purchased some proofing baskets 5-6 years ago.

I have a thick canvas cloth but any linen or tightly woven smooth kitchen towel will work.

Best to see if it will become a frequent bake in the rotation.

2020, when i had the giant bag of flour from the wholeseler, i weighed out the flour into bags and kept some in the pantry, some in the fridge, some in the freezer. The amount needed for two big boules.

I agree they are a bit thick but that is choice. Using a small home oven will restrict the size. Or just make 5-6 instead of 4. For certain sandwiches a bit wider is best. Some bakeries here take it too far, too brown with a hard crust. Fine when torn with charcuterie but often makes a very difficult-to-eat sandwich.

NewOrleans french is very blonde. Looks half baked. But it works for the ingredients in a po'boy.

Making at home can control how you like it if the recipe suits the need.

Why i'm a bit obsessed with focaccia at the moment. It just uses a bowl and my sheet pans. No counter kneading. No shaping. I can par-bake ahead this weekend and freeze for a pizza al taglia party Memorial weekend.

This is good to keep in mind. I have posted before but it works like a charm.

Looks like the FairwayMarket baguettes they had in baskets at checkouts. It was nothing special but did buy it occasionally.

That’s helpful, but what I’d really like to avoid is havijg old bread in the first place. I need to learn abour the possibikites of either storing shaped dough in the fridge or par baking. I’d love to be able to pull something out of the fridge sn hour or whatever before dinner snd have fresh baked bread. I’m fine experimenting but if anyone has recs or tips I’d be interested.

As for the bread itself, one thing I noticed is that the video guy whose recipe I followed uses bread flour, while pretty much all the discussion I see about ”authentic” baguettes says the French use T55 or T65 which have a lower protein content more similar to our APs. I’m wondering if I’d notice s difference.

I never have old bread either. But our bread, once cooled down to room temp, it goes into the freezer. (What we will not be eating that evening). Sliced, half/quarter boules, brioche rolls, focaccia...etc. Commercial grocery breads have preservatives and a shelf life. (as we all know)

Sometimes our bread needs a re-fresh out of the freezer. That method works for frozen corn and flour tortillas also. Even cornbread. Not freezer burnt but could use some help.

AnnT makes bread sometimes 2-3 times a week. Maybe a double batch but not sure. She pushes the fridge time often 2-3 days. I think she may still be using the Forkish pinch and fold that DH has been using.

WholeFoods has a French made half-baked French baguette frozen but have not gone there. Reviews are good. We have so much bread in rotation i have not much need for purchasing.

I use half 00 and half all purpose with a bit of whole wheat for fococcia. Trying the added rice flour slurry this weekend for the second batch. (thin and crispy)

We 'probably' have access to a few dozen flours in NY. Like the Asian rice store with many varieties. And like dried beans...dozens. Faint memory deciding what flour to purchase 2020 from Baldor. Made an excellent boule and brioche buns but no pic of the bag. (probably in my order history)

I do think the flour choice maters. My eyes cross when the 'expert police' get way too insistent on this and that. "that is not French!", "that is not Italian!".

We have a nice family 'colab'. DH starts the dough, whatever we want to make, and i do the next day/day two final folding and shaping/baking. (he get sloppy with final folds) and weight/size like for rolls/buns. He is happy to pass that off to me.

Found this channel last night looking for foccacia ideas. He visits French bakeries and follows them during their morning prep for opening their bakeries. Boulangeries.

Make it the way you like it.

Folding methods interest me...

Link... Boulangerie Pas a pas...folding at 5 minutes in.

Not familair at all with his channel but he visited a French bakery focacciarie that i liked looking for foccachia ideas. And found a home recipe for baquegette.

Other visits include French bakeries during their morning bakery 'work-out'

The foccacia French bakery in his series follows a bakery that makes a dozen+ different foccicia breads. Excellent ideas for my up-coming pizza event.

Found this review of a couche 😂

Oh my, toasted couche.

ROTFL!!!

DD told me that some of her American friends who don't react well to bread and thus think they have some degree of gluten intolerance, when they move to France for a while, have found that they don't have any problem with bread. She thinks there is something in US bread/flour, that isn't in French bread/flour. I've never looked into this.

A lot of people who think they have a gluten problem actually have a FODMAP issue. The grains that contain gluten are also high FODMAP. The FODMAP content might be different in the different kinds of wheat. Also, standard French flour is softer, like our pastry flour, so if it is a gluten thing, it's possible there's less of it in the bread in France. Furthermore, if they're comparing commercial bread with other things in it besides the classic flour, yeast, salt and water (plus eggs, milk and/or sugar for enriched breads) the issue may be with the additives which probably aren't in the bread in France. Or...they may have no issues at all with bread and the problem is what they usually accompany bread with. Like it could be peanutbutter that's the issue. Or it could be attitude--I've known people who insisted they couldn't deal with gluten when their issue was really lifestyle stress rather than anything to do with food. People are often very bad at identifying their issues and cheat on what are supposed to be elimination diets, so it would be hard to know.

There are differences between commercial bread in the U.S. and commercial bread made in France. Some of it springs from food anthropology, the availability of different grains, how bread(and beer) was viewed differently betweeen those two countries, the usage of grains was different. Skip past Betty Whites birth, and sliced bread, baked white goo, and stable for days or weeks at a time bread took over in the U.S., and France still makes bread like they always have. France (and Italy) protect their wheat stocks from chemical processes of drying that are common in the U.S., and that also may have an impact on the grains impact on us. So might some other differences in the respective ComAgs.

Not sure if anyone would be interested, but for those interested in testing gluten intolerance in different types of wheat or just trying some different types of wheat and other grains, this little company specializes in organically grown ancient grains. I no longer make bread as I live solo and just don’t need much bread, but I can highly recommend their pilaf and their split farro. https://bluebirdgrainfarms.com

I don't discount the differences in wheat types or production which I know nothing about, but like plllog my mind went along the along the lines of misdiagnosis. Even for those who've actially had intolerance (as opposed to celiac) these sorts of things can be temporary. So I'd find it conceivable that someone who stops eating wheaf and is fine wirh it for a length of time, goes to France, decides to try their famed bread, has no issues, then blames American wheat when in actuality they'd no longer have reactions here, either. It's just one possibility of likely many.

Anything consistent with the superiority of France and French food, I believe; anything not, I refuse to hear!

John Liu tongue in cheek comes to mind.

Don't forget that focaccia isn't French, it's Italian. We eat fougasse. Both are garnished breads.I'll eat them all LOL

Oh. Did I take a joke for straight?

I lived in Italy a couple years and have traveled all through Europe a few times. I know the difference. What i was saying above, if you can't find a bread locally to suit your needs, try making it and stick with it a half dozen times until you and your family are happy with it.

Like i said, I watched a video on focaccia and Roman style pizza al tavola that happened to be in France. He visits bakeries and films the baker from the early morning prep through service and opening. No comentary. No recipes. Just the sound of the ovens opening and shaping /making various breads. It was not clear he was in France until the end. Then i watched a couple of his French bakery content. I tried stopping the video to see the flour they were using. Seems to be available here as well as a few others like the 00 i'm using from Italy.

DH has been focusing on various flatbreads since January. I'm focusing on various focaccia breads. Can't get a good focaccia locally. Not like i had in Rome. One baker in NYC is excellent but $$$. I still like my own better. I can make a thin crust 'al taglia' and a thicker sheet pan for paninis at the same time by the way i divide the dough...or three thin crusts.

No judgement, but we prefer a split-top brioche for any variety of sausages. A NYTimes recipe, (not sweet...just a pinch to feed the yeast)

I've been baking bread for decades but when I start a new recipe it does take a while to get it right. Sometimes months. I make a weekly loaf, slice and freeze then pull out a piece for breakfast each day.

So don't give up!

My loaf for the past couple years is sprouted organic spelt flour. I order the flour from vitacost. I don't make enough to have a grain mill. Speaking of which, I miss grainlady.

I have a neighbor in the US who says when he goes to Italy (and France), his issues with bread and pasta disappear. This is not an isolated set of anecdotes, as you can see from the various web reports and stories. And yet, the Franco-Amer5ican friend is a true celiac and must strictgly avoid gluten in both countries. I've seen stats that the incidence of prevalence of the actual celiac disease is roughly the same as the US. And yet, I'm not ready to dismiss the claims of these people with intolerances who have experienced a difference, especially given the difference in the amount of additives.

So, the next question is what kind of bread are they eating?

I bought this really nice cookbook for bread that I was going to recommend... However, it is for Itallian bread.

I would guess that the flour they use is not on pesticide enriched soils and the're older varieties of wheats. For the most part, I only use Irish and french butter because of the pesticides and herbicides not used.

"I bought this really nice cookbook for bread that I was going to recommend... However, it is for Itallian bread."

My late husband once ran to the store to pick up a few last minute things for a dinner we were having for friends. On the list, I'd written loaf of French bread. He returned without any bread. When I asked why he hadn't purchased bread, "They didn't have any French bread. They only had Italian."

I like some French food, but not all. I liked it better when I was younger and had not tasted a lot of other cuisines - now it often seems bland to me.

I like French influence in certain other cuisines, such as Vietnamese and Algerian. I like the combination of Arabic spices with French sauces that I find in Algerian food.

I like Italian food better than French, and I used to cook a lot of French style food (my grandmother was from Alsace and cooked French style) when I was in my 20s, but then I moved on. I'm much more like to make Cajun or Creole style food.

My favorite French food is the cheese, and I like some of the wine.

I do have a special pan for baking baguettes (small ones), but more often I bake 100% whole wheat bread or rye bread. I prefer to buy baguettes than make them because there are some excellent bakeries here that do a much better job of it than I do.

@neely, Are you inspred yet?

Olychick - Maybe he thought you were making French Bread Pizza? Can’t make that with Italian bread!

Plllog do you mean… am I inspired to bake my own baguettes ? . … well not really because as I mentioned in my OP ””with good bakeries just around every corner, sadly I don’t push myself to bake bread all that often.”” . Without French flour, I can’t see my nostalgic pleasure of a French baguette happening in this country.

I will bake bread just not often and I often make pizza dough. We have very good flours here, how do I know … because we also have fairly ordinary flour here as well and the difference is obvious. The Italian doppio zero 00 is most often used for pasta and pizza dough.

Of course I do admire everyones baking efforts and FOAS I thought your rolls looked crispy and delicious.

Bread is hard! I admire anyone who can make a good loaf. It took me a long time to get pizza dough the way we like it LOL.

One thing I've recently learned is that the air fryer is great at reviving a dry baguette. Put it under the tap, then in the fryer for about 3 minutes.

I guess I was just wondering if you got what you wanted from the discussion...

I decided to have another online search and Ooo la la I found French flour that will be delivered in Australia. It’s called Francine T55. Will be here in a week. Sooo I will be baking baguettes quite soon. Of course I’ll let you know how they turn out.

So I’ve got s week to up my game, because we all know yours will look perfect!

Francine is a good make. So many different ways to make a baguette..... who'd of thought it! I am a fan of no-knead bread, I must say. This I found really different!!! There's a video. https://www.ptitchef.com/recettes/accompagnement/baguettes-de-pain-express-fid-1570671

I am a fan of no-knead bread, I must say.

I became a fan during the pandemic. I will occasionally go the old route and make a poolish the night before then go through the whole kneading process, but no knead is so incredibly easy and it tastes great!

Nice to see you are going to give it a go after finding French Flour.

France is offering a baguette scented stamp...scratch and sniff, lol.

One thing to consider is that you are comparing what comes from your home oven to what comes out of a commercial oven.

It is my observation that people who live where threre are good community sources of bread at bakeries really do tend to NOT bake that kind of thing at home. They buy it from a local source.

To get a good crust and a great loaf of French bread that you are talking about really does require a good oven, and most likely, a commercial one, or one that is probably beyound what most of have sitting in our kitchens.

Also, bakeries use a blended mix that they purchase to give them what they want from it. I know that KingArthur does have some blends that you can buy for home use. Mixed in a large commercial mixer, such as even a smaller bakery might have, it is going to be worked differently than it wil in the Kitchen Aide. And it will differ even more from one that is kneaded by hand. However, the Kitchen Aide does do a good job of it. I have one .

So I think that comparing the two may be a flawed concept.

I find so little good bread of any kind in the US. I hear of this or that bakery is to open and all they do is make sweets, no bread. Actually, none of those little businesses have lasted at all. So, we are pretty much stuck with the grocery chains.

We have an Amish market but they really seem to focus on those sweet yeasty breads.

Another thing about some of the so labled artisan bread in the US is that they use a rising or conditioning agent in the bread rather than using time to let it attain its quality. This particular protein, I think, used to be extracted from hair. Yes, HAIR! I think maybe there is a modern version of it now. But, it is used in place of the time to age the dough. Dont belive that is true? Give it a search and see what you find.

So, there are a number of factors that make your home baked bread different from that from a good bakery. I have adjusted my expectations over the years and I just buy baguettes. I have to say that, for my choices, the baguettes at Costco are the best around. It does not mean that they are the best, just the best that I have available .I do bake some other breads, mostly loafs.

I really dont understand why the US has such an awful relationship to good breads.

Those of you who live in parts of the northeast where lots of European immigrants settled may still have good bakeries and good breads. Maybe even the west coast had some good bread But most of the flyover country does not have that.

I'm in the deep south. We have a number of cottage bakers who sell at the weekly farmers' market and other small markets.

https://www.225batonrouge.com/food-drink/pandemic-hobby-blossoms-cottage-bakery-local-couple

https://www.inregister.com/cuisine/at-home-artisan-bakers

Yeah, we have lots of good bread on the West Coast. We also have the bad bread, and in-between, commercialized, locally baked bread of chemicals. There are bakeries that make mostly sweets, but also ones that make mostly bread. Some are very good. Some, which started just for the baking for a restaurant, rather than devoting high rent square footage for on-site baking, but did such a good job, they started selling bread directly to the public, then eventually opening a commercial site to supply bread to the grocery stores. I bake bread because I like to, but I can buy really good bread.

FYI, if you are experimenting with focaccia dough, Model Bakery in St. Helena, CA (also Napa, at Oxbow Market) became famous when Oprah Winfrey said she often had their English Muffins shipped out to her. At the time it was a big secret why their EMs were so good.

We like to drive around Northern CA and dine out, so we bought some from Model Bakery. They are excellent savory EMs, being on the salty side (IMHO), and are fabulous with melted cheese. But the moment I cut into one, I told my husband, "This is a focaccia-type dough, with a whole lot of good EVOO used!"

Pick one up, and you can feel the oil on your fingers. Excellent quality coarse-ground cornmeal dusted on the outsides, too. A few years later, the owners admitted that was the type of dough they used. It makes REALLY good EMs, LOL!

All y'all are going to get me dragging out my scale and making bread if I keep reading this. Like neely, I frequently just grab some bakery bread rather than makingnit myself, but sometimes we do also make bread. If I'm going to make bread, though, I'll probably make one of the ones that takes a sponge ... though that does take planning the night before.

Planning is my problem. Sunday night I started my bread for Monday. Monday I realized we wouldn’t be around for dinner. Put it in the fridge but it’s since collapsed. I’ll cut my losses, rather throw out the one cup of flour than potentially waste another pound.

This is why I rarely even shop groceries for dinner before day of.

S, I finally had the attention to really pay to the three ways video. I love how fast he talks (not wasting my time) and was fascinated by the bread in little more than an hour notion. Number 3 is pretty much how I do it, but I still found a few tips in there that I really like, including the cardboard loaf mover. Moving the loaves to the pan is something I really struggle with with large or long loaves. I also like his foil pan cover to trap the steam, and his shaping method is quite different from the way I learned and I'm definitely going to give it a try. Thanks again for sharing this!

If it's not too late, FOAS, you can re-knead and re-form the dough and let it have another rise...

Ha - Actually it IS too late because last night as I was getting set to throw the poolish out, a skillet on the stove caught my eye and I decided to fry it with olive oil. A sprinkle of maldon salt and it was quite delicious! But thanks, now I know for next time!