Olga Booker

Olga, reading your post is making me crave baguettes! I think I will have to bake some very soon!

I hope there will be a revival of small bakeries run by bakers who do things their own way.

HI Kate,

Glad I made your mouth water!

Yes, I hope so too.  Actually it is happening in France quite a lot , because as you may know, bread is a serious matter here.  After all, it started a revolution when Marie-Antoinette told the peasants to go and eat brioche when they had no bread!

Baguettes are not what they used to be.  For sure, they are still deliciously crusty, but they are made with quick rising agents, which doesn't do much for your guts' health.

The new generation of bakers are quite often ambulant and you will find them in the markets.  Luckily, there are markets everyday of the week somewhere nearby.

Anyway, I hope you will bake en enjoy your baguette!

Yes it does keep it's shape for frying. It is extremely salty and fairly dense, I would not use it as a paneer but obviously taste is a personal thing.  Paneer is so easy and cheap to make that it seems a shame to use Haloumi for this purpose.  However I'm happy to be convinced!

Well, it goes without saying that fresh, crusty French baguette was the staple in our house.  Such a staple it was, that even to this day, I cannot eat a meal without bread!

When I was young, every small village had it's own bakery and everyone bought fresh bread everyday.  In those days, bread was made on the premises and I remember, as a kid, going to chat with the baker on a summer's evening while he had a smoke at the back of the bakery, waiting for his dough to rise.  He often invited us in on a cool evening, to show us how it was made and to keep us warm.  It was of course made with sourdough.  My grandma's village had 3 bakeries and the bread tasted different in each one of them!

A lot of villages still have their bakeries but I doubt that the bread is baked on the premises, and even if it is, the dough is undoubtedly made commercially somewhere else.

My favourite way to eat Haloumi is to cut it in thick wedges and fry it  until golden brown and serve it with a salad, houmous and flat bread.  A few black olives don't go amiss, it is a Greek cheese after all !  Enjoy!!

Wane

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Dame

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