36 MOTHER EARTH NEWS December 2016/January 2017T
he French have two distinct bread
traditions. One is of breads that
are crusty, crunchy, and limited
to four ingredients: flour, leavening,
salt, and water. They’re the sexy, trendy
breads of today. When the leavening issourdough rather than yeast, the result-
ing loaves are those featured in “artisan”
bakeries and those that inspire many of us
to bake our own bread at home.
For several hundred years, when
English speakers said “French bread,”
we didn’t think of the golden, rough-
textured breads we so love today. And wenever thought of sourdough! Sour was a
taste we didn’t like in bread. Cookbooks
in the 19th century advised adding soda
to neutralize any starter or bread dough
that had even a hint of sourness.
Historically, the breads we emulated
in our bakeries and homes were the sec-
ond kind: soft white breads lightly en-Whether you enjoy it as sippets, bread pudding, or toast
with butter and jam, bake this historic bread recipe, based
on English and classic American cookbooks.
Story and photos by William Rubel
FRENCH BREADFRENCH BREADFRENCH BREAD
Back-to-Basics
p 36-39 French Bread.indd 36 10/10/16 1:39 PM