The Basic Patisserie students at school were off to their "Pastry Shop Visit" this week. Since I'm only taking Basic Cuisine, I decided to search out my own pastry shop tour. Using mygenieinparis.com, I found a tour of the Miss Manon boulangerie patisserie in the 4th arrondissement. I signed Quinn and myself up for a tour for this morning. It was one of the best experiences we've had in Paris, and we'd highly recommend it.
We arrived at Miss Manon and stated, "Nous sommes ici pour la visite," and we were greeted by not one, but two tour guides. Both spoke fluent English (whew!). The four of us sat down inside the pastry-filled boulangerie patisserie and had a breakfast of pain au chocolat and café. The pain au chocolat was still warm and one of the best we've had in Paris!
We dropped our jackets and bags off in a little room downstairs and then were off to venture behind the closed doors of the inner workings of a bakery. The establishment was several stories, and we headed downstairs to have a vist with the two "bakers." Both men were responsible for making the various breads, including the baguette tradition and baguette classic. We were given a little bit of background on the bakery: Miss Manon was 1 of 6 in the area and had been in business for 10 years. Next, the baker explained the difference between a classic baguette and a traditional baguette. Just a few days ago, Quinn and I had discovered that these were two different types of bread! Both are of the same weight (250 grams) and are made in similar fashions. The traditional baguette (baguette tradition) has 50% fresh active yeast and 50% of a homemade natural yeast concoction. The classic baguette (often referred to as just "baguette") is made with only fresh active yeast. We had a chance to take a slice of both to see which one we liked best. I like the classic baguette because it was so much lighter and fluffier inside.
I'd learned in school that you should never mix salt with yeast because the salt kills the yeast. In today's visit, the baker actually showed us this concept in action. He poured salt on a pile of yeast, and minutes later, we saw that the salt had liquified the yeast. He explained that this is why salt is added towards the end of the mixing process.
In addition, water is added during various intervals instead of adding it all in the beginning; this allows the dough to be more elastic. A boulangerie like Miss Manon sells 600 classic baguettes and 400 traditional baguettes daily. A customer, however, never sees more than 15 to 20 baguettes on display at a time; the baker constantly refreshes the basket as fresh bread is baked.
We were also shown the different types of flour that are used by the baker. He grabbed a handful of each kind (6 different types!) so we could feel and see the differences. There are specific flours used for baguettes, for croissants, cakes, etc. In France, flour is categorized by a number. Each category is based upon the amount of flour that has been extracted from the grain of wheat (i.e. how much ash content is in it). For example, the flour used for making croissants, type 45, is the whitest of the flour types and 0.45% of it is ash content. On the other end of the spectrum, whole wheat flour, type 150, is the brownest of flour types and 1.5% of it is ash content. The browner the flour, the more husk is contained within it.
We were also shown the different types of flour that are used by the baker. He grabbed a handful of each kind (6 different types!) so we could feel and see the differences. There are specific flours used for baguettes, for croissants, cakes, etc. In France, flour is categorized by a number. Each category is based upon the amount of flour that has been extracted from the grain of wheat (i.e. how much ash content is in it). For example, the flour used for making croissants, type 45, is the whitest of the flour types and 0.45% of it is ash content. On the other end of the spectrum, whole wheat flour, type 150, is the brownest of flour types and 1.5% of it is ash content. The browner the flour, the more husk is contained within it.
After the dough is mixed, the dough is put into bins and set to rest for 24 hours in a refrigerator set at 3 degrees Celsius. The dough is ready after only 3 hours of resting, but leaving it to rest for a longer period of time creates a better flavor within the bread, which is what this particular bakery prides itself in doing.
Next, the dough is placed on a cutting apparatus where it is portioned into even pieces.
It is then put into a machine that removes the gases from the baguette, shapes it, and lengthens it to the appropriate size. We were shown how this was all done and also had a chance to see how the process is done manually as well. We even got to try it ourselves! We made traditional baguettes and also braided some bread with the traditional baguette dough. 
From that point, the dough is set to rest on silpat sheets at 23 degrees Celsius for 2 to 3 hours.
A wooden board is used to place the dough onto a conveyor belt and marks are created on the bread with a razor blade before the dough is pushed into the oven.
Nearby, croissants were being made, and we watched as we waited for them to show us the process from start to finish. As we waited, we were offered freshly baked croissants to snack on. They were fresh right from the oven and were definitely the best we'd ever tried! We also had a tasting of the raw croissant dough... it tasted like butter!
I thought that we had perfectly timed taking this tour because I had just shown Quinn how to make puff pastry. Croissants use the same method of "turning" the dough, and we had a chance to see how this was all done on a large scale using a machine. It's amazing to see how much butter goes into making these buttery, delicious treats (check out the huge block of butter!)! Before each time through the machine, the dough is folded so that it results in creating 81 alternating layers of butter and dough.
A cutting mold is put into the machine and the dough is cut into the desired shape. There was a mold for making croissants, one for pain au chocolat, and one for tarts.
The baker ran the dough through the mold for croissants and we had a chance to stretch them out and shape them. 
Next, he ran the dough through the cutter to make pain au chocolat. He also showed us how to cut the dough using a knife to make the croissants and pain au chocolat.
The baker shaped the pain au chocolat and also explained that if you fold the dough in a certain way, the chocolate would fall out of the dough (catastrophe!).
We headed to the room next door where there were several men were making pastries. There was a table where someone was peeling and coring apples and another where someone was lining molds to make charlottes. The cake lining for the charlottes was carefully measured and cut using a series of rulers, stencils, and knives.
We went to the far table to see how Bavaroise (Bavarian cream) was made using a high tech machine (the machine cost 60,000 euros!). Bavarian cream is an egg custard stiffened with gelatin and mixed with whipped cream. It would be later used to fill the charlottes we had seen getting their molds lined.
Vanilla and Kirsch (a cherry brandy) were added to the Bavarian cream to give it flavor before it would be mixed with the whipped cream. As we watched the vanilla seeds being scraped from the vanilla bean, we got into a discussion about the cost of vanilla. Nowadays in Paris, you can get a kilo of vanilla beans for 200 euros. However, when Coca Cola decided to make their vanilla Coke, the price skyrocketed to 2,000 euros per kilo because Coca Cola had bought up all of the vanilla from Madagascar! Vanilla is so expensive because it is so labor intensive. Although vanilla can be naturally pollinated by birds, the retail vanilla is pollinated by hand.
Some of the pastries are garnished with chocolate shapes. Chocolate is put into a container and then melted in the microwave, and we were shown the finished product before we headed back downstairs to finish off our baguettes.
I didn't know until recently that Quinn used to be a "trekkie" when he was younger. We took the metro home from our bakery tour (it was pouring outside!) and looked up movie times for the new Star Trek movie. Quinn told me the next showing was at 11:50am. I looked at the clock, and at that exact moment, it was exactly 11:50am. We looked at each other and then raced out the door. I love that the movie theater is only 2 minutes from home! We sat down in the movie theater while the previews were still playing. The movie was both entertaining and exciting. The best part was that our tickets cost us only 3 euros each!!!
From that point, the dough is set to rest on silpat sheets at 23 degrees Celsius for 2 to 3 hours.
A wooden board is used to place the dough onto a conveyor belt and marks are created on the bread with a razor blade before the dough is pushed into the oven.
Our next stop was the 1st floor area (what us Americans know as the 2nd floor) where they were making chausson au pommes (apple turnovers). The chaussons au pommes are pastries filled with either apples or apple sauce and are encased in puff pastry dough. We shaped some of them using cookie cutter type molds.
Nearby, croissants were being made, and we watched as we waited for them to show us the process from start to finish. As we waited, we were offered freshly baked croissants to snack on. They were fresh right from the oven and were definitely the best we'd ever tried! We also had a tasting of the raw croissant dough... it tasted like butter!
I thought that we had perfectly timed taking this tour because I had just shown Quinn how to make puff pastry. Croissants use the same method of "turning" the dough, and we had a chance to see how this was all done on a large scale using a machine. It's amazing to see how much butter goes into making these buttery, delicious treats (check out the huge block of butter!)! Before each time through the machine, the dough is folded so that it results in creating 81 alternating layers of butter and dough.
A cutting mold is put into the machine and the dough is cut into the desired shape. There was a mold for making croissants, one for pain au chocolat, and one for tarts.
The baker ran the dough through the mold for croissants and we had a chance to stretch them out and shape them.
Next, he ran the dough through the cutter to make pain au chocolat. He also showed us how to cut the dough using a knife to make the croissants and pain au chocolat.
We tasted the long chocolate sticks used for the pain au chocolat before it was placed onto the dough.
The baker shaped the pain au chocolat and also explained that if you fold the dough in a certain way, the chocolate would fall out of the dough (catastrophe!).
The dough trimmings are folded back into the dough so that nothing goes to waste.
We were told that 60 croissants could be made from the pile of trimmings sitting to the side.
We headed to the room next door where there were several men were making pastries. There was a table where someone was peeling and coring apples and another where someone was lining molds to make charlottes. The cake lining for the charlottes was carefully measured and cut using a series of rulers, stencils, and knives.
We went to the far table to see how Bavaroise (Bavarian cream) was made using a high tech machine (the machine cost 60,000 euros!). Bavarian cream is an egg custard stiffened with gelatin and mixed with whipped cream. It would be later used to fill the charlottes we had seen getting their molds lined.
Vanilla and Kirsch (a cherry brandy) were added to the Bavarian cream to give it flavor before it would be mixed with the whipped cream. As we watched the vanilla seeds being scraped from the vanilla bean, we got into a discussion about the cost of vanilla. Nowadays in Paris, you can get a kilo of vanilla beans for 200 euros. However, when Coca Cola decided to make their vanilla Coke, the price skyrocketed to 2,000 euros per kilo because Coca Cola had bought up all of the vanilla from Madagascar! Vanilla is so expensive because it is so labor intensive. Although vanilla can be naturally pollinated by birds, the retail vanilla is pollinated by hand.
Some of the pastries are garnished with chocolate shapes. Chocolate is put into a container and then melted in the microwave, and we were shown the finished product before we headed back downstairs to finish off our baguettes.
We took home our freshly baked bread, and later made baguette sandwiches for lunch!
I didn't know until recently that Quinn used to be a "trekkie" when he was younger. We took the metro home from our bakery tour (it was pouring outside!) and looked up movie times for the new Star Trek movie. Quinn told me the next showing was at 11:50am. I looked at the clock, and at that exact moment, it was exactly 11:50am. We looked at each other and then raced out the door. I love that the movie theater is only 2 minutes from home! We sat down in the movie theater while the previews were still playing. The movie was both entertaining and exciting. The best part was that our tickets cost us only 3 euros each!!!
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