What does Bien Cuit Mean and why is it Important?

When bread is bien cuit, it is baked to a dark, often mahogany-colored crust. On first seeing a loaf that is bien cuit, you might think it’s burnt. Most people do. But I believe there is a bliss point when foods are almost, but not quite, burnt. This is equally true of meat cookery, as any great grillmaster knows. It is exactly that moment at which bread or meat (or anything cooked that contains a fair amount of protein) develops maximum flavor. In addition to bread and steak, the beautiful color and flavor of beer is also a product of this wonderful alchemy. The chemistry behind this is complicated, and you need a deep scientific background in order to truly understand the process, which is known as the Maillard reaction. For the purposes of this book, it’s sufficient to say that the Maillard reaction is a transformation that protein undergoes when combined with a sugar and heat. The result is hundreds—maybe thousands—of flavor and aroma components that are complex and pleasurable. This is the reason why my breads are bien cuit, pas trop cuit, which is the French way of saying “well baked, but not overdone.”