When you mention bread, a lot of people think first of a French baguette. Fresh out of the oven, long and thin, with a crackling crust, it’s hard to beat as a symbol of good bread and the French way of life. The baguette is the first bread that many beginning bakers want to master. The reality of French bread is quite a bit more complicated, since there are 210,000 square miles and a lot of different areas in France, most of which have a distinctive culture, including food, which includes bread.
I’ve posted a few recipes for the breads of France, as the late, great Bernard Clayton, Jr., titled his 1970s book, and I will be posting more in the near future.