Behind the scenes of a bakery

This post is rather long because it follows the process of making the standard bread that is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner--the baguette.

I asked at the bakery we usually go to (la Talemelerie) if I could observe the baguette making process. No problem. I showed up at 8am yesterday and the baker was already busy removing bread from the oven. He had started at 4am and had just one more hour of work before being replaced by another baker.

Just a word about the baker. He did a 2 year professional degree and started working when he was just 15 years old! He is now 24 years old.

Back to bread. The whole process is about 1 1/2 hrs.

The baker has just enough space to work in, although it does appear small to me. When the second baker came to relieve the first, they worked in the same space for about 10 minutes and they do get in each others way a bit.



The following pictures give an idea of how this bakery turns out about 500 baguettes a day.

One bag of flour is poured into the mixer.

An enormous mixer! The scale to the right is used to weigh the salt, yeast and individual sections of dough.

Then a mix of flour, water and yeast is added. The baker mentioned that very little yeast is in this mix for the amount of flour used.

Some crumbled yeast is added. Salt is added towards the end.

After the machine kneads the dough for about 20 minutes, sections of the dough are weighed and put in the plastic tubs. Each tub is enough for about 20 baguettes.

The dough in the tub is then dumped into a machine that cuts it into 20 equal sections.

The lid is closed and a handle is depressed to cut through the dough.

The baker briefly rolls each section and places it on a cloth-covered tray. Once it is filled the tray is placed in a "cupboard".

The next step is the façonnage--forming the shape of the bread. He showed me how to do it--some rolls and then the baguette. The baker does it with amazing speed! But after 9 years, you would become very good! I asked why the ends of the baguette are pointed. He said this was to show that the baguette was made by hand. Machines cannot make the pointed ends and so it is their way of showing the customer that this is not industrialized-made bread.

The baguettes are put on trays and then left to rise in a temperature-controlled unit.

The baguette are ready to go in the oven. The cloth under the baguette is floured and helps keep the shape of the baguette as it rises.

When they are ready to go into the oven, the piece of board on these loaves is used to move the dough to the board that will slide the baguette into the oven.

Before the baguette goes in the oven, the baker uses a razor-like tool to make slits in the top of the baguette.

Many bakeries use gas to bake bread, this one used a wood-fired oven. The temperature of the oven goes down over time, so baguette are baked first for 17 minutes and then larger loaves are baked for a longer time when the oven is not as hot.

Beechwood is used, and delivered to the bakery from a producer 45 minutes from Grenoble.

Inside the oven. It is very deep and very long-handled paddle (see below) that allows the baker to reach the baguette at the very back of the oven. The paddle can hold 4 baguette so every time he puts in 4 new loaves to be baked, he takes 4 out, going from left to right. If the timing is messed up he'll get burnt loaves.

A full view of the area where the baker works.

I asked the baker what was hard about his job. I thought it might be the physical demands of always bending to put bread in and out of the oven or the constant lifting of heavy dough. I was wrong. He said the mental demands were harder. Everything is timed and when not putting bread in the oven or taking it out, he is preparing a new batch of dough. The rhythm of all the tasks has to be maintained for the work to get done.

I was glad that I didn't ask too many questions! Despite the mental strain, he loves his job and wouldn't want to do anything else. He added that you have to be passionate about this kind of work otherwise you would not be able to do it day after day.