Madame Odile shares, “Chef Jake came to class with a batch already prepared the day before to show students what the dough looks like after sitting over 10 hours for the ingredients to mix well and the flavors to develop.”
“All students then got to watch how to prepare a new dough from scratch,” she continues. “Later on, they prepared their own baguette, learning the techniques, folding, rolling and placing their baguette onto the ‘couche,’ a special linen that helps hold the bread in the right shape.”
“We all learned not to ‘work’ the dough too much as to prevent creating too much gluten, making the bread difficult to work. Chef Jake explained how long the process takes and the various stages. Students will be coming home with a fresh baguette and the recipe so they can teach their family how to bake at home.”
Along with Chef Jake, Madame Georgia and Madame Odile explained how important baguettes still are in French daily life. “Our student Gavin reminded us, from a documentary we watched prior to our baking class, that 300 baguettes are being sold each second in France.”
