History lesson

Today we smashed out the bread as usual and as usual Yan was being the “sac de merde”. I really want to tell him to get lost sometimes...

I got to try this chocolat caramel thing today which tasted awesome and Alexandre explained that they make the choc mousse and then put a piece of frozen caramel inside and that’s how they manage to control the placement of it. But it’s so sweet so I almost was in a sugar coma... 

Alexandre explained to me why most houses in Croix Rousse have such high ceilings:  back in the day Lyon was the city that had the first printing press, but after a while, the machinery was replicated and many people lost their jobs so with the cotton from America and silk from china (this is in the 1800’s) they started making tapestries in Lyon and that’s why so many things in Lyon and especially Croix Rousse are named “canuts” which the name for Lyonnais silk workers. Ok so because there were so many silk workers, they would have the looms on the first floor and in the beginning, the machines were 3m high so that’s why the ground level would be 3m high and then the first floor would be 2m coz that’s where the people would live, with the next floor being 3m and the following being 2m.

History Lesson

The later looms were even bigger, at 4m. And all this explains why Fatiha’s place has such high ceilings, probably around 4m. It’s amazing how much history is embedded all over Lyon.

I helped Alexandre with some doughs for his presentation on Saturday. We made the saucisson, red wine and hazelnut bread again “pain des gones”, as well as pain de carillon which is normally with rosette de Lyon (a salami)but Alexandre used lardons for more flavour. We also made brioche with saindoux which is pork lard, and a brioche roulade with pork crackling in it which is eaten with an aperitif (I forgot the French name). We also did pain sainte marcelin which is Alexandre's own recipe which is a bread shaped after a goats cheese by the same name and is shaped in a similar shape as the cheese. The dough contains a cream made with the cheese as well as pieces of cheese inside.

The dough is shaped into a round and the baked inside a silpat mat with round moulds, after being floured and having a grill placed on top during the baking to give it the distinct lines.

Alexandre made a “pain party” which is used for decoration and it’s quite a firm dough which you can manipulate easily once cold and he used to make a plaque.