Finally. This is it. The last post about bread. My brain is forever changed by my incessant research; every night I count little fluffy croissants instead of sheep to go to bed. I live, eat, and breathe bread now (there are worst fates to be had, so I’m not that mad about it). Let’s go about this final post as a timeline of sorts, starting at the end of the Middle Ages, in the 16th and 17th century.
King Louis XIV was a fan of new twists on classic French cuisine, often implementing New World ingredients like potatoes, corn, and eventually, tomatoes. There was very little spices used, instead chefs would create complimentary sauces and pair them with their dishes. Coffee also began to gain popularity under Louis XIV’s rule, as he fell in love with the bitter drink after trying it in 1644. It was known at the Sun King was a glutton – despite the fact he had no teeth.
King Louis XV’s reign brought more opulence and orderliness to the way food was presented, but nothing truly changed until the French Revolution. Directly before this time, there was a total of 652 revolts about food between 1760 and 1789. There was years of incredible poverty and mass starvation that succumbed to the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789. Nobles were feasting on white bread that was sweet and soft like cake whilst people withered away and died in the streets. This shortage of bread, which used to be such a staple in French households, signified the fall of the Royal regime as it had done for the Romans and the Russian Revolution. White flour was banned, and bakers could only make one kind of bread, pain d’ egalite (bread of equality).
Immediately after this, restaurants became a commonplace in France, especially in major cities. Their purpose was to provide restoratifs (hardy soups, I think?) to those who can pay, providing a cheaper meal alternative. The mass starvation thankfully died down in the 19th century alongside the rioting. From the French Revolution till then, however, bread prices were still high, and a severe drought occurred that made the harvest even worse. People resorted to killing each other for a scrap of bread, until finally in 1796, drafted soldiers were sent back home and started to farm once again, steadying the food supply. Price regulations were put in place to stop the ever-rising prices and things began to finally stabilize.
Basically, things were really, really bad for about a hundred years until it all bubbled over in 1789 and kind of exploded in French royals’ heads. Then their heads exploded (or were cut off via guillotine). The French truly embraced baking ever since, creating delicious delicacies for the world to enjoy. The roller mill was invented in Switzerland in 1834, drastically speeding up and essentially industrializing the milling process. It became more common for people to buy their daily bread instead of baking it, and as such, boulangeries were born. By 1920, the iconic baguette shape was perfected, and bread began to become mass-produced. In 1938, bakers worldwide started to enrich flour, where the vitamins that were sifted out to create pure white flour are put back into the mixture to give it proper nutritional value and stop diseases like pellagra from spreading.
Honestly, there’s so much more that I found interesting about bread in France, like how the average French citizen ate up to 3lbs of bread DAILY in the Middle Ages or how the French Revolution caused people to use ingredients from the New World (like potatoes and tomatoes) that they would have never touched previously thanks to xenophobia. I can talk about this kind of random history stuff for ages, and if you want to know more and dare ask me, I probably can. However, I’m getting very sleepy and need to post this asap (I know I’m at least one post behind), so this is what ya get. Thanks for reading my rambles.
Just for funsies – here is one of the first French recipes containing potatoes, from a post-revolution French cookbook:
“Pommes de terre a l’econome“
“Ingredients: (for 4 servings): 3 sprigs parsley, finely chopped. 1 scallion, finely chopped. 4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped. 2 cupps chopped cooked meat (leftover meat or poultry). 2 pounds potatoes. 3 1/2 tablespoons butter. 1 egg. 1 egg, separated. Salt. Pepper. Flour. Oil for frying. Chopped parsley (to garnish).
The Herbs and the Meat: Mix the finely chopped parsley, scallion, and shallots with the chopped meat. The Potatoes: Boil the potatoes in their jackets (skins) for thirty minutes in lightly salted water. Peel while still hot; then mash with a fork.
The Patties: Combine the mashed potatoes and the chopped ingredients. Add the butter, egg, and egg yolk. Salt and pepper to taste. Shape into medium patties. (If they are too small, they will be too crunchy, and if too large, the centers will not cook thoroughly.) Beat the egg white until it begins to stiffen. Dip the patties into the egg white; then roll them in flour.
Cooking the Patties: Place the patties in a frying pan with very hot oil. Turn so that they will brown on all sides.
To Serve: Drain well, and serve garnished with parsley.”
Sources:
The Food Timeline: history notes–Colonial America and 17th & 18th century France
The Long History Of Bread Explained (grunge.com)
The History of French Bread (lepetitfrancais.com)
The History Of Bread In France – Busby’s (busbysbakery.com)
The History Of French Pastry And Confectionery – Eat the Globe
Not gonna lie, sad to see the bread posts go. I did not know that such a surplus of bread was available in the middle ages. I also love that you included a recipe (especially with potatoes!) and think we should all try to make post french revolution bread together when we are back in the States.