The Great Baguette quest N°3: Anis Bouabsa
Tuesday morning, we decided to go visit the Duc de la Chapelle, Anis Bouabsa's bakery in Paris. As you probably know, he won this year's Best Baguette. The bakery is situated in a modest neighborhood, far from the typical tourist traps and chic areas. We entered the bakery and asked he woman behind the counter several questions before buying a selection of breads. She was very nice and helpful. As we left the bakery, we took some pictures of the young baker/apprenti who was scoring baguettes and sliding them in to the oven. Disappointed by the quality of the photos through the window, Florence returned and asked if we could go inside and take just a few pictures. The woman showed her the way, no questions asked!
Once inside, who came through, but Anis himself! I felt like a teenager who was getting a real-live view of her movie star hero. He looked at me through the window and asked Flo who I was. I think he thought I was a bit idiotic because I had such a huge grin on my face! He opened the door and told me to come on in.
So, here you have two passionate home bakers in front of a master, and may I say the sweetest, nicest and most generous master. We started asking him questions and he told us EVERYTHING! He explained from A to Z how he makes his famous baguette. He adapted the recipe for home use for us and explained how we could do the steps at home. He showed us how to form the baguettes, slide them in the oven, what temperature.... EVERYTHING!
We even asked him if we could come and have a real lesson and he didn't say no, he said in September it could be possible.
Now, what he told us was actually quite surprising! The baguette dough has a 75% hydration, very little yeast, hardly kneaded, folded three times in one hour then placed in the fridge 21hrs. They are not fully risen when placed in the oven, it is the wet dough and the very very hot oven (250°C) that make give the volume.
When I get some time, I will be trying his recipe. I feel success is near!!!!
Anis gave me permission to publish his pictures. They were all taken by Florence, "photographe extraordinaire".
Jane
Explanations
Baguettes à cuire
Oven
Baguettes
Comments
I'm not sure really that I do necessarily want to lighten it - I just wondered what it might do to the rise, so I shall experiment for the sake of experimentation. :D
Lexicographical comment: Bolting used to use coarse cloth , instead of the varying nylon screens I believe are used today. I also found a reference to "dressing" the flour in a bolting cloth on one of the flour sites.
Thank you so much for creating and continuing this thread! I have one question for Jane. I've been taking it for granted until a second ago that Mr. Buoabsa used steam in his baking. But did he?
Yes, he used steam. His oven s a modern deck oven with steam perfectly controlled.
Jane,
You've been missed. Welcome back.
Hopefully we'll all have the pleasure of more of your baking adventures.
Bien Cordialment, Wild-Yeast
Thanks! Baking over here as been delicious but pretty simple. I have found a flour I really love and pretty much bake two types of bread very regularly, semi whole wheat baguettes for hubby and pain au levain because I love it. But this summer, as I am headed over to North America, I will definitely have to do some baking with the notorious american flour! I can't wait.
I promise to show the pain au levain soon.
Jane
Please can you help me with this recipe? Can't seem to find it here. Am new on this forum. Thanks!
See this: Anis Bouabsa ficelles
Happy baking!
David
I like his technique for using steam as a rising agent. I've had consistent results baking my baguettes in this way. This recipe also lends well to flavorings ie: Pistachio/Cherry, Walnut/Roquefort, Spinach/Chevre, etc. I've used all of these additions in a similar recipe, identical procedure and had admirable results. You will sacrifice a touch of volume, scoring will not be as consistent, however the flavorings are irresistible. I suggest a 450g measure for each as well. Happy Baking xoxo
Hi all!
So, a lot of time has passed!
I‘m working in a local bakery in the south of France that was bought four years ago by a group of three bakers from Paris. I haven’t been living in France for the last four years because my husband accepted a job in Africa and the kids and I went along for the ride. Now we are back in France!
I love the bread at this bakery because it is unlike anything made locally. I’m doing a 14 week « stage » at the bakery, doing all the pastries and goodies. I work closely with the bakers, helping with the viennoiseries as well. So, as someone very passionate about bread, we spend a lot of time chatting. I get to help, observe, slash baguettes, etc. The other day, I asked the baker about his baguette. I wanted to now the exact process. Well, GUESS WHAT??? He worked at Anis Bouabsa’s bakery in Paris and that is where he learned to maie his fabulous baguettes! We went through the whole process and he asked me if I knew the secret ingredient. I said, a bit of rye (the other baker told me) and he said exactly.... and a bit of corn flour, just to add a slight golden color. He showed me the quantity. Literally a small bowl for the entire professional mixer.
I find it incredible how small the world is sometimes.
So, if there are bakers out there interested in the Bouabsa recipe, definitely give it a try. The baguettes are SOOOOO good!
I hope your time in Africa was beneficial for all involved. And I look forward to hearing more from you.
Paul
It was an incredible experience on so many levels! It also gave me the opportunity to work in a bakery for the first time. And that experience got me this job in France. The problem I have for home baking these days is that my oven isn't so great. It's perfect for pastry, but I find it lacking for bread.
Hi Jane, you are a legend around here with your baguettes! It is nice to have you back. I would love to know the formula for the Bouabsa baguettes with percentages for the flours. I’ve made the Bouabsas but never included any corn or rye and it would be great to make them with those flours included.
All the best to you and your family.
Benny
Hi Benny, Nice to meet you!
Here are the baguettes. I didn't choose the most beautiful baguette to photograph. I just took a few for lunch.The product is always consistant but they don't make a big deal about them looking absolutely perfect. In the crumb close up, you can see the texture of the crumb. People come from afar to buy this bread and it freezes perfectly.
I'll get the exact formula on Wednesday, as the bakery is closed tomorrow. But essentially, it is what is written above but you replace a tiny percentage of the flour with rye and corn. Hardly noticeable.
In your absence this recipe became well known around these parts and versions of it have propagated on this site. We recently did a baguette Community Bake where they were became even more prominent. I would like to thank you personally for bringing it to our attention. We have also learned of a source for French T65 flour here in the USA that is so good that adding other flours to it I am afraid would risk corrupting it's charm. When my supply of that flour runs out I will try your flour additions with my normal AP flour batons in the future.
Thanks Don
Yes, I see what you mean. When you’ve found perfection, why change?.
I think the corn flour is just for color. It’s in homeopathic doses. I haven’t had time to go through the whole recipe because when I get to work, the baker is loading them in the oven.
Thank you for the kind words. There was a lot of trial and error to get to this point. Cornflour is an ingredient in Chad Robertsons baguettes in his Tartine book and bakery. It is added for color and sweetness but I never got around to trying it because I settled on the Bouabsa recipe that you brought forward.
This is the flour that was such a revelation to me. I think it is from the Normandy region. I never knew bread could taste so good and did not get the charm of baguette burnt ends from the other flours I have used in the past, which was mostly USA all purpose. The flavor of the burnt ends from this flour is sublime and beyond compare. If all of the varieties of French flour are this good I may go broke paying for shipping or have to get over my envy and just move there.
Don
Sorry, I disappeared. I'm off work on Sunday and Monday, but end up doing computer work and house stuff. It's the only time I get to visit here.
That looks like good flour. Are there additives or is it pure?
Most flour over here has some additives
https://www.moulindenomexy.com/fr/boutique/fiche-produit/farine-bagatelle-label-rouge-t65
This is the flour we use for our baguettes traditions. It is just wheat flour, nothing else.
Composition: Wheat Flour T65, gluten, malted wheat flour, amylases. I believe it is repackaged by the US distributer so there is not much other info on the bag.
I guess malted wheat does the same job as the malted barley that is used here. I think the protein content is around 10% and it seems to take slightly less water than other wheat flour I have used that is grown in the western US.
Don
I definitely noticed that French soft wheat flour absorbs less liquid. It's the flavor that I love. We did a flour exchange years ago with Steve and I liked how easy US flour was to work with, but it lacked the flavor of our flour. What I was using at the time was an organic T65. The French flour with additives is tasty and easier to work with, but never organic.
The T65 flour I have been using is also available in an organic version that might not have the additives. Although this one is so good that I can taste it all the way down to my bones. I love watching the same reaction of the people I have shared my baguettes with.
Astonished to read the description of the flour you linked to. Reposted here to provide contrast to the homogenized mass produced flour we have to sort through.
BAGATELLE Label Rouge T65 flour will allow you to make homemade breads for all meals and which will please all palates. T65 flour, without additives, also called traditional French flour, is used by bakers to make the famous French traditional baguette but also other cream or light yellow crumb breads.
Among the white flours, it is ideal for making traditional breads, with a thin, blond or even brown crust and a honeycomb and pearly crumb. The breads will have a good nutritional balance with their good carbohydrate and fiber content.
Flour made from certified French wheat, selected according to the terroirs and preserved without insecticide treatment by ventilation in natural air.
"selected according to the terroirs" might be the secret ingredient. I think the US wheat is selected for things like crop yield and machine mixing properties with almost no thought for taste.
Thanks to the modern world of internet access and shipping I should be grateful that it is relatively easy to locate and purchase flours from other countries to sample. It's hard to justify the shipping cost but being captivated by baguettes will do that to a person.
This article helped convince me that I needed to try some french flour. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/13/baking-bread-in-lyon Although I am hoping to avoid a similar fate as the author had when only a certain flour will do.
Terroir is a very important thing here in France. That's why I poste the bread a little lower down. That wheat ONLY grows near here. The flour we use is grown at a small, independant farm. It's triple the price of regular flour but the aroma it gives the bread is amazing. Plus, it's organic. The same goes for cheese, fruits and veggies, meat...
It's one of the reasons I feel fortunate to live here. The food is soooo good, and I have access to reasonably priced, high quality ingredients.
Hi Jane,
Great to see you back after so long an absence! And yes, the world is not as big as it first appears...,
On that same theme I find it incredible that they are also using rye flour in their dough. I've been using organic dark rye to improve the sourdough starter levain build. I liken it to a vitamin pill to insure the long term stability of the culture.
The addition of corn flour is somewhat of surprise though. I'm guessing that it only affects the color of the baguettes and not the flavor so much or is it more subtle than that(?)...,
Best regards,
Wild-Yeast
Hi there!!
Yep, the corn flour is most definitely for color. And I’m thinking the rye is is the pate fermentée. I’ve been so busy in my pastry corner, that I have t had time to go through the bread formulas with the bakers. But I will definitely find out more info soon. I’ll do a little blog post on the bakery I work at because it is really a fantastic place. I feel very fortunate to be a part of the team.
How great to see you back on TFL, Jen!
For general, historical information: When Janedo was searching for a favorite baguette formula and I was tagging along, we discovered that adding a small amount of rye flour - like 5% - to a white flour dough enhanced flavor complexity amazingly, without having any recognizable specific rye flavor. This exploratory process was what led me to the development of the San Joaquin Sourdough.
David
David,
Any thoughts on the addition of corn flour to the taste profile?
I've found a long retard (> 12 hours) with low percentage (< 5%) rye flour addition results in a greatly improved taste profile that's just not achievable in a plain pain au levain. The only issue is that the proofing time needs to be reduced some, otherwise the dough overproofs slightly.
Wild-Yeast
Wild-Yeast
I have never used corn flour in bread other than corn bread and tortillas. I like the flavor of corn meal a lot though.
I haven't noticed any difference in proofing time with rye, but the breads I bake without any rye are few and are different in many ways from those with rye (enriched one way or another).
David
As I was reading Susan’s reply that exact thing crossed my mind. It went into your bread formula. That small bit of rye changes everything. At the bakery, it is used in the sourdough starter, but I don’t think they add it to the dough afterwards. We are in the south, so not a rye area, but I’d like to propose a bread that has some more rye added to it. We also have a local flour called Barbu des Pyrénées. Barbu means bearded and I think it might be because the grain has a little beard to it. I made a 100% barbu bread last week that was fantastic. I did a build with it in the morning, made the dough in the afternoon, all night rest and then bake. It’s an old old grain that only grows in our area but the gluten strength was totally adequate. I’ll upload some photos.
I’m not great at getting the photos uploaded well. Hope they aren’t too big. The color is not quite like the original but you can tell it’s a bit more grey. The interior I crumb is a bit more tight, but still very nice. My oven is not very good for bread. I changed it about 6 years ago and it just isn’t like my old one. It won’t even go up to 250 C.
Anyhow, the texture and flavor are amazing.
I really like this loaf!
Well, these are not the original Bouabsa baguettes but, rather, the San Joaquin Sourdough derivative. I substituted finely ground corn meal for the whole wheat in my formula, so it is approximately 90% AP and 5% each rye and corn flour. I baked this morning and we had some for lunch. I would say there is a subtle increased sweetness to the crumb flavor. No impact on crumb structure. From the dough consistency, there really was no difference. Anyway, I like this variation a lot. Here are some photos:
David
Lovely crumb and crust David. Regarding your formula above, is it 80% AP and then 10% each rye and and corn flour or 90% AP and 10% split between rye and corn flour?
Thanks, Benny.
I was rushing to post this right before a Zoom event that was about to start. I'll correct the numbers. Thanks for pointing out my error. Of course, I could just say the baguettes were 110% delicious. ;-)
David
Well no one could argue with that statement that baguettes are 110% delicious, I’d go with that.
Beautiful as always.
So, did you notice a color difference?
No. I didn't notice any color difference. Remember, my usual formula already has about 10% whole grain flour, and the dough is not really white.
Hi Janedo, I have read your blog and loved the experiences you have shared - but still trying get that elusive parisien baguette de tradition crumb! Please help! I have tried most of the methods except the long cold ferment. Do you have more info or recommendations (your photos are no longer shown!), to assist me?
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