The Breads of France

My head is reeling with thoughts of the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in early March. Have decided to wear a copy of  "The Breads of France" by the late Bernard Clayton Jr. With that under my arm, I can't help but start a conversation with people I don't know. They'll see it and want to know where I got it since the paperback is hard to find and truth be told, I won mine for helping a chef at Le Cordon Bleu. She has great taste in books.

The big awkward about going all the way to Paris for a bread competition is this: I don't know a soul. Most of the world's best bakers have thrown flour together for years. I picture them glad-handing, back-slapping and standing each other to a glass of bubbles as they call out "Tchin-tchin!" in perfect French.

There I'll be, wearing a book, standing apart and looking pasty. I am prepared to discuss, if asked, my favorite recipes in the book. See those little twists above? They are Gateaux au Poivre - pepper cakes. Clayton called them tiny twisted golden wreaths of yeast-raised dough, speckled with pepper and formed around your index finger. They have the 3 attributes that are good to have in bread: great taste, quick turn and ease of execution.

These cakes can translate into an appetizer (I imagine weaving in strips of proscuitto), and they freeze well, too. I battered them with Grains of Paradise, a spice my Denver sister introduced at Thanksgiving. She claims Alton Brown uses it in his apple pie as his secret ingredient. Some day I'll tell you about Karen Berner's "Real Deal" apple pie and why I think it stands above all others. Karen is Food Editor at Taste of Home magazine, but don't let me digress on how good the Real Deal really is.

Shoving thoughts back to Grains of Paradise, it's also known as alligator pepper, atar, baking pepper, Guinea pepper, melegueta pepper and Roman pepper and is native to the coast of West Africa, according to its label. Find it at savoryspiceshop.com. And since I'm giving out pointers, dash over to Crate and Barrel for their mini pepper grinder, to fill with the Grains of Paradise. Perfect size, perfect price ($5.95) and good at reducing paradise to manageable heaven.

Racing onward toward more thoughts of flavor, consider the Pain d'Epice from Clayton's book, with similar attributes and made fragrant by the use of anise seed. Learn more about anise in the December issue of Taste of Home magazine. I wrote the headline, "Almighty Anise," while I was externing there and so if anybody asks about anise, I'm prepared to remark on how the Romans broke anise cakes over the heads of their brides for good luck. The result of this aromatic bread infused with anise, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, rum and orange rind  reminds me of Swedish Limpa Bread.

One last tout to a jaunty bread that's ready the same day and easy to make. Judith Jones in "The Book of Bread" describes Earl Grey Tea Rolls. The use of tea and lime zest will surprise you; I prefer the smokier Lapsang Souchong tea and an extra squeeze of lime juice along with the zest, but taste as you go and see what you think.

Bread flavored with pepper, anise and tea are good ideas on how to increase flavor without proofing and retarding dough for days and hours on end to fully develop the essence locked inside the various flours you use. Only think of what the Coupe bakers will know, if I can just get them to open their bouche.