The art of French baking is exactly that – a true art form. Decadence and indulgence are at the forefront of authentic French baking. Baked goods recipes are developed by harmoniously layering flavors to highlight the main ingredient. Sounds complicated, right? It doesn’t have to be. The key to baking like a French pastry chef lies in logic.
Any baker, from amateurs to trained professionals, will tell you the same thing: baking is a science. Cooking is a bit more flexible in terms of throwing in a pinch of this or that, but baking requires precision. Each ingredient is included with purpose and measured to the exact impactful amount required for the finished product. For your end result to be perfectly balanced, taste great, and have the desired texture, you need to be accurate with your ingredients and their measurements. For baking French cookies, it’s even more important to be exact. Typically, the ingredients are few and fairly simple; it's the process that can be tricky. The good news? You don’t have to board a plane and make the trip across the pond for authentic tasting French cookies! Follow these six tips for creating France-like cookies right from home.
Butter Knows Best
So what types of cookies are natively French? You’ve got French macarons, cookie squares, lunette de romans, palmiers, waffle cookies, boudoirs, meringues, madeleines, lace cookies – just to name a few. But what do all these delectable cookies have in common? Butter. Butter is a staple in French baking, and it’s often used as the bedrock ingredient.
Butter is incredibly versatile. Cold butter, or butter right out of the refrigerator, is used to make light, flakey, and layered cookies and pastries. Making brown butter, or as the French say beurre noisette, is a popular French baking technique. This involves slowly heating butter to separate out the milk solids. This lightly toasted butter has an incredible aroma and is perfect for desserts, sauces, and glazes.
Mise en Place
Translation: things in place. This phrase as it relates to French baking means organization and preparation go a long way in the kitchen. Having all your equipment prepped, your ingredients weighed, and any other components ready to go ahead of time will make your baking go much more smoothly. This also refers to recipe planning. Timing is essential for many French recipes. Thoroughly reading your recipe before you start will help you navigate time-based baking challenges.
Ingredient Tempering
This is an important technique to master. Many well-intentioned baking sessions have fallen short due to bad blending. The challenge here is to slowly bring two ingredients to the same temperature until they are fully incorporated, without having an adverse effect on either ingredient. The trick is slow, steady heating and careful, constant stirring. This applies to both hot and cold combinations.
Weight vs. Volume
Volume-based measurements refer to the ingredient capacity and do not require a kitchen scale. This is likely the method of measurement most American bakers are familiar with. Weight ensures accuracy and aligns best with the precise measurements of French cookies.
Techniques Over Recipes
French baking is an intricate, delicate process. It’s best to start by learning baking techniques and then focus on applying them to recipes. Think of it like the old proverb — if you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Practicing techniques over multiple recipes will help you to develop your skills, and eventually develop your own recipes!
Learn the Lingo
French baking lingo is a language all in itself. Knowing the difference between brisée and sablée will allow you to follow authentic recipes. Having a level of familiarity with the terms will also help with learning techniques. French baking is revered for its artistry. Using the correct language is essential to paying homage to the cuisine's storied history.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Hands-on practice is the best way to learn, so get in the kitchen and start baking. A close second to practicing is eating. Trying new baked goods is a great way to learn about flavor combinations, textures, and even plating. Remember, practice makes perfect!
image source: Delicious Brown Cookies with Chocolate Chips on Saucers Beside a Cup of Tea
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