French Bread
Mar 19th, 2002, 05:44 AM
#22
Guest
Posts: n/a
Tom: Definitely NOT. There is outstanding French bread and outstanding Italian bread. (Same is probably true for similar breads Greece and Spain and probably all southern European countries.) There is also a lot of mediocre bread in both countries. I had the best bread in both countries in the country and in small towns from small local bakeries. I had the worst bread in either country in Paris served with a meal, and also had mediocre bread (but not as bad)served with some meals in Florence. (The mediocre bread was like average adequate Italian or French bread made in the USA; the best French and Italian breads were better than the best locally-made Italian and French breads I've had in the US.) When I commented on the high quality of a particular bread to some local people in Sicily, I was told that it was because of the special wheat used that is not commonly used in the USA. Parts of Sicily are major wheat growing areas; I don't know whether the same is true for France. I had great old-fashioned peasant-style bread in a little town in Basilicata where foreigners rarely visit. The best bread I had in the Dordogne was served at a farmhouse and had been bought at a local bread bakery from an eccentric elderly proprietor. Then locals hinted that we wouldn't want to know how the baker puts out his fires, and that while it's the best bread around, they hurry to buy it and run off the premises before the baker has a chance to handle it much.
