Next door to our office in Langeais there’s a traditional French bakery - a boulangerie - owned by two couples, Xavier and Karine, and Fred and Marie. Xavier and Fred are brothers from Paris.

Trip planner Clelia with Fred and Xavier
Trip planner Clélia with Fred and Xavier
©

France Just For You

They all lived in Quebec for a few years, and they bought the bakery here in the Loire Valley together six years ago.

What is a boulangerie?

It’s important to know that, to be considered a real bakery - a boulangerie - the bread has to be made on site by a qualified baker.

Fred has been a professional baker for 18 years and he’s currently teaching his brother Xavier his skills while he makes other plans for the future. Karine serves customers at the front of the bakery.

Last week, our trip planner Clélia chatted to them to find out more about their daily routine and the process involved in making the traditional French baguette, which UNESCO added to its 'intangible cultural heritage' list in 2022.

Xavier adding the flour, water, salt and yeast to make the baguette
Xavier adding the flour, water, salt and yeast to make the baguette
©

France Just For You

What makes a traditional baguette different?

It’s important to note that there’s a difference between a “white baguette”, which you can find pretty much everywhere (even in big stores), and a “traditional French baguette”, which only a real baker can make according to strict specifications: it must have no additives, it must not have been frozen, and it may only be made with a certain kind of wheat.

Xavier the bake, shaping the baguettes
Xavier shaping the baguettes
©

France Just For You

A day in the life of a French baker

Fred usually starts his day at 2-3am so that everything is ready for the first customers when they open at 6.30am. He finishes in the bakery at around 1.30pm and starts preparing for the following day.

Making the dough for the baguette: the kneading process & resting time

Fred makes the dough from a mix of flour, homemade yeast (made with organic grape juice), water and salt and puts it in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours at 3°C/37.4°F, depending on the flavor he wants the bread to have. The longer it stays in the fridge, the better the taste and the conservation of the bread. The dough rises during this time.

The dough fridge and Fred the baker
Fred by the dough fridge
©

France Just For You

The shaping, fermentation & baking process

Then he shapes the bread and puts it in a fermentation room, where the temperature of the dough slowly rises from 3°C to 20°C (37.4 to 68°F).

By morning, the bread is ready to be cooked in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 240-250°C/464-482°F.

Then the baguette is ready to eat! Yum!

There’s nothing better than eating a chunk of baguette - a quignon - while it is still warm!

Baguettes in a bakery
Fresh traditional French baguettes
©

France Just For You

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Leslie
There are not enough superlatives for our experience with Emilie. Prompt correspondence and thorough questions led to the perfect vacation for my family. Her choice of hotels in Paris and Provence were exactly what I would have chosen on my own. Her tour guide recommendations were spot on. The fact that she arranged all of our transfers, train …
John
My wife and I recently engaged Emilie, of France Just For You, to plan a two week trip to Provence in the first two weeks of May. It was mid-March and we found Emilie during a web search of self-driving tours of France. What a find! Emilie responded within twenty-four hours with very specific questions, wanting to know more about us, our interests …
Elliot
My wife & I completed a 2 week self-driving tour engaging the thorough and knowledgeable services of Emilie A France Just for You. Every detail was flawlessly accounted for, GPS app, wonderful B&B's, and she planned our itinerary according to our desires. The advantage of enlisting her is to get a reality check on time spent in each area as well as …
Anthea
We have just returned from a road trip around France and with Emilie's help, we had one of the best trips we've ever had. We travel extensively and I normally do my own research and bookings because we don't like using formal , organised tours but we were looking for advice on self driving holidays in France. Emilie's attention to detail is …
Ed
This is the third year in a row that we have traveled to France, as part of a two country vacation. Because of our positive experiences with Emilie's help in the past, and our desire to be relatively independent, we chose to have her craft our French trip again this year. In a word, she is incredible! We have such a high level of confidence in her …
Dan
I communicated directly with Emilie who is very serious about their business of providing self guided tours. She prepared a proposal that matched what I had requested. Payment arrangements were easy. We really got to visit with local people. We rarely saw a tour bus. France - Just For You arranged visits with guides (wine tasting day in St. Emilion …