Puddings and Baking

For most of us on holiday in France, catching sight each morning of the boulangerie across the street or in the corner of the square, is a moment of relief. Lunch is assured. For however many delicious waxed-paper packages you’ve just bought at the charcuterie, or however splendid the cheese in your shopping basket, none of it will taste as it should without bread. A fresh, crisp, golden baguette, a larger flûte or, for children and those who like plenty of crust, perhaps an épi shaped like an ear of wheat, each grain of corn a miniature loaf: all this bread is an important part of every meal in France. It is the frame for the picture each meal represents and one would feel deprived without it.