First, thanks to Jill from Popsicle Blog for sharing her pictures with me, since I had a technical oops and lost all of mine from the evening.
I thoroughly enjoy cooking. I love the creativity involved and like being able to add a little of this or a little of that on a whim. I see recipes as inspiration, not as something to be followed precisely. I definitely like eating bread, but wouldn’t call myself a baker. With baking, it is crucial that ingredients are measured correctly and instructions are followed and I don’t really have experience with that.
When I was offered the opportunity to attend a bread baking class atLe Pain Quotidien, I jumped at the chance to learn something new. They certainly know how to to make good bread, so I (correctly) assumed that this would be an ideal place to learn.
Le Pain Quotidien
When I arrived, dough was ready and waiting. We were able to get to work right away. The instructor did a fantastic job explaining each step, answering questions and helping us learn good techniques.
First, we made little loaves of bread and filled them with toasted hazelnuts and organic raisins. Then we formed the same dough into rolls, filling some with a chunk of butter and others with pieces of dark chocolate.
Before putting the dough into the very large bread oven, we had to score it to allow it to breathe and bake evenly. We had fun trying out different patterns on our rolls and we turned some of our baguettes into these beautiful wheat stalks.
A Tray Of Tartines
When the bread was baking in the oven, we used that time to learn how to make the dough and get it mixed properly. We wrapped that up to take home and we also brought home bags of the bread that we had made. It was delicious!At Le Pain Quotidien, yesterday’s bread is today’s ingredient. From bread crust to beer: many things can be created with old bread. The small steps we’ve been taking for thirty years can become even bigger. To do so, we started to look for even more solutions to give a new life to our old bread.
Our bread is composed and baked with special care and patience. We choose to use organic, stone-ground flour. The fermentation process of the dough takes time and the conservation of the sourdough in our atelier requires a lot of knowledge and precision.
Throwing this bread away would be a useless waste, especially when we know that the production of one baguette requires four square meters of land and a bathtub full of water (150 liters). So every baguette counts. Unfortunately, baguettes lose their freshness after only half a day. That’s why we bake them several times a day in our bakeries. The old baguettes are then turned into croutons, which are very popular with our soups. But we needed more projects, more small steps, and better organization in order to waste even less bread day after day.
Bread Basket, Fresh Juice And Cappuccino
At Ginette, the beer is brewed with our old bread. With such collaborations, we have the chance to develop local projects for people living in poverty. By doing so, we have been able to distribute a lot of bread while reducing foodwaste.
In our own kitchen, we’ve also begun to look beyond the croutons in the soup by developing a new recipe: a freshly baked crouton salad, now available in our menu. With our unsold brioches, we make Pain Perdu, a dessert that is now on the menu with warm apple and clotted cream. Our pride and joy today is the innovation of a new type of bread with a dough made of seaweed (dried wakame) and a fifth of yesterday’s sourdough bread.
Bread also has an emotional meaning for us at Le Pain Quotidien: the everyday bread has been the foundation of our story since the beginning. Every day, our goal is not to throw away a single slice, but to use bread as an ingredient.
Organic Super Seed Bread
Bread is very subjective to waste because of its limited shelf life. 23% of the food thrown away by the Belgian consumer are breads and pastries. All of this summed up comes easily to a few kilos per person per year. Research also shows that a lot of food (not only bread) is actually still edible when it is thrown away. Together, we would like to take a small step to limit this waste.
To do so, Luc de Clercq, L’Atelier du Pain’s head baker, gives you tips on how to better preserve your bread while our founder Alain Coumont shares a surprising recipe here below. Would you like to join us in taking this small step?
A good bread bag is a traditional Belgian paper bag with a thin coating, no plastic nor linen. Seal the bag tightly and place the bread in (or above) a cupboard, but not in the fridge.
Le Pain Quotidien Menu & Prices (updated: June 2023)
Want to freeze fresh bread? Do this without slicing it and as soon as it has cooled. In the freezer, be sure to wrap the bread in a plastic bag. You can store bread in the freezer for up to four months. When the bread is defrosted, put it in a hot oven for another ten minutes.
Dip the bread slices in the mixture and turn them over several times. Once completely soaked, preheat a non-stick pan, melt the butter and brown the bread slices for two minutes on each side.
This Thai-inspired recipe can be served as a meal, snack or dessert, for example with a few slices of mango or a scoop of sorbet.Baking is at the heart of Le Pain Quotidien, the global restaurant-boulangerie which is renowned for its freshly baked bread made using the finest organic and local ingredients. Chef and founder Alain Coumont has shared this signature five seed bread recipe so that you can enjoy a slice of Le Pain Quotidien at home.
Le Pain Quotidien Cookbook: Handmade Recipes For Breads, Tartines, Soups, Muffins And More From The Famous Artisan Boulangerie [cookery]: Delicious Recipes From Le Pain Quotidien: Amazon.co.uk: Alain Coumont, Jean Pierre Gabriel: 9781845337483: Books
2. In a bowl add warm water, yeast, sugar and oil. Cover with cling film and leave to ferment in a warm place.
4. Knead the dough by rolling it into a ball with your hands. To knead the dough, push it out in one direction with the heel of your hand, then fold it back on itself. Turn the dough and repeat a few times.
5. Once the gluten starts to work, you will find the dough becomes bouncy. To test if the dough is ready, press with a finger and the dough should bounce back.
First Taste: Le Pain Quotidien
6. Shape the dough into a large ball and add to a clean oiled bowl or baker’s basket and loosely cover with cling film or a damp cloth.
11. Tap the base of the bread and if it sounds ‘hollow‘ you know it is baked. If it doesn’t sound hollow return to the oven and cook for a little longer.
The first Irish Le Pain Quotidien is located at Kildare Village and serves a selection of soups, salads, signature tartines, homemade pastries and freshly baked bread. Demonstrating its commitment to working with the finest local suppliers, over 150 ingredients are sourced from Irish producers and artisans. The menu has also been devised to cater for individuals with special dietary requirements and offers an extensive range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
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