Vacation living and baking

Last year I was in Rome, so I did like the Romans and learned to make Pasta. This year I'm in Paris and I'm all about the boulangeries and patisseries. When I found out that I was coming to Paris I knew that I wasn't about to leave there without learning how to make a baguette so I asked Mardi from Eat Live Travel Write who I met at Food Bloggers of Canada conference, and she recommended La Cuisine Paris and boy, oh boy did I have fun.

I met some great people, and more importantly I also learned how to make Baguette and Fougasse (I just love saying the word Fougasse). I may totally sicken everyone back at the office with dropping the word Fougasse in every sentence that I possibly can. Be forewarned people!

I am a self-confessed carbaholic, so France with all of its breads and pastries has been my carb lovin dream. To help combat spread in all the wrong of places I've been walking EVERYWHERE. What take the train 4 stops and save myself a 30 minute walk? No thanks I'll do the walk gladly if it means I get to reward myself with an almond croissant at the end of it. After all I do need to keep my energy levels up. More bread and cheese - yes please - I think you get the idea.

So based on Mardi's reco I signed up for class and off I marched with great zeal to class which started at 10 am. After brief introduction, we got to bread making YAY!!!! where we first learnt to knead the bread by hand - a skill which thankfully I have having diligently studied at the foot of Grandma Ruby.

We mixed all of the ingredients on the countertop, and kept kneading it until it went from this (above) to that (below)

After proofing we formed our bread into the shape and set it to proof again. 

et voila, we have bread.

While we were waiting for the baguettes to proof for a second time, we made our fougasse dough and proofed it.

Then we formed it, cut the holes into the dough, and added a little Olive Oil. 

Then we dressed it with the ingredients that were made available, baked it, ate the teacher's sample and took ours home. Not too shabby for 3 hours worth of work - 2 baguettes & 2 fougasse.

I was thrilled to be taking them home where Mark was anxiously awaiting the bounty of the harvest.

I had a quick nap and lost one of the two baguettes that I brought home. Good god - I had to fight him for the rest. 

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