The Timeless Charm of Pain Ordinaire: A Classic French Bread Baguette Recipe

Let's discuss another unique recipe to share and introduce to the digital world. Unlike all my other recipes, Pain Ordinaire, also known as French Bread, features a soft, airy, and light-textured crumb with a hard, crusty crust and a noticeable crackle. This French bread recipe is particularly special because I discovered it in an old Louisiana Cajun cookbook titled 'Talk About Good!' My copy is from the 4th printing in 1969, and I am grateful to my mother-in-law for gifting me a couple of these treasured books. When I first tried the recipe, it didn't turn out well, but I already knew by then that this book had some inaccuracies in its measurements. After much trial and error to determine the correct ratios and techniques for the recipe, I finally succeeded. Here is my version of the Pain Ordinaire French Bread recipe.

This traditionally prepared Pain Ordinaire / French bread baguette recipe will yield 4 baguettes.

Ingredients:

525 ml of lukewarm water

7 g of active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

850 g bread flour 

3 tbsp soft shortening or soft butter

1 tbsp salt 

1 eggs white + 2 tbsp water for brushing loaves before baking

Corn meal (you will sprinkle a greased cooking pan lightly before placing the loaves in here) 

Execution Steps:

1. Activate the yeast by combining the yeast, water, and sugar. Stir and let rest for 10-15min

2. Mix the yeast solution with the other ingredients: flour, salt, and shortening.

   Begin mixing by gradually adding the flour from the center outward. Continue mixing and kneading until everything is combined. The goal is to achieve a firm dough so kneading is a must until the dough becomes smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes.

3. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, and turn it over so all sides will get lightly greased.

   Cover your dough and let it proof for 1.5HR - 2HR or until doubled in size.

   (Remember a bakery is a very warm place, so air conditioning can slow your rising time. I like putting mine around the oven and sometimes I preheat the oven and open the oven door a little so that hot air circles around the area)

4. Punch the dough down and let it rise again until almost double in bulk --> 3rd dough rise for 1HR

5. Punch the dough down again and split the dough into 4 parts. Shape with hands into long loaves, tapering the ends.

6. Place on a greased baking pan that has been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Make several cuts about 1/8 inch deep on each loaf. Let rise for 1 hour, do not cover.

7. Brush loaves with egg white mixture 

8. Bake loaves at ~200°C (400°F) for 20min; then brush again w/h egg mixture and put back in the oven to bake for another 17 min or until dark golden brown.

   
   

‼️ Let baguettes cool off before cutting & freeze wrapped in parchment paper for best freshness - and then lock in freezer paper or some kind of other sustainable manner

❤️ unfreeze wrapped in a towel and reheat in the oven at  ~150°C (300°F)

Extra:

As I am writing this recipe I always get curious to learn about the history behind the bread discussed. So here are some interesting French bread facts; Before baguettes came in style, French bread was typically round shaped and made with sourdough. Lucky for you my recipe is yeast-based. Some say the baguette was inspired by the long, slender Vienna loaf brought to France by Austrian soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars. Others say the baguette was created to be more practical, with a shape that was easier to carry and slice. Some believe the baguette originated during the French Revolution. We will never know! However we do know in the 19th century, new ovens allowed bakers to experiment with different shapes and baking methods - hence the creation of baguettes, longer, thinner loaves

With Love,

Spread Some Dough Today 💋