This week, we invite you to celebrate French bakeries with a scrumptious selection of boulangerie favorites!
Our selection includes two types of Francine flour for bread (which you can use with or without a bread machine), crispy biscottes, darling pastry-shaped sugar pieces and marzipan, colorful bread and pastry-themed tea towels, and even croissant earrings. :)
Take your picks and don't be shy about your love for bread and croissants!
Marianne Prébet
Founder & Gourmand-in-Chief
Just in: more French favorites
Among the French favorites recently added to our shelves you will find Brets La Craquante and honey & mustard potato chips from Britanny, Esprit Provence assorted aromatic extra virgin olive oils, Comptoir du Cacao Dubai chocolate, scrumptious Maison Colibri madeleines with chocolate shells, Émile Vergeois pure yuzu & apple juice, and Dammann flavored black tea in an elegant Eiffel Tower tin.
If there is a French treat you would like to find on our website, please share your craving with us.
Suggestions for your French agenda
There is plenty of exciting French cultural events all around America. Enjoy your picks!
Chicago's Art Institute presents Matisse's Jazz: Rythms in Color. Through June 1.
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents Manet & Morisot, through July 5, and France in the Time of Manet and Morisot (a photography exhibition), through August 23.
The Denver Art Museum presents The 19th Century in European and American Art.
In New York, the MoMA presents the Marcel Duchamp exhibition. Through August 22.
L'Alliance New York presents its new film series, The Films of Sophie Letourneur. Through May 26.
L'Alliance New York celebrates Frederick Wiseman with a new film series, Frederick Wiseman in France. Through July 24.
In Washington, DC the National Gallery of Art presents Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris. Through August 30.
In Washington, DC Marc Chagall's magistral Orphée mosaic in on view in the sculpture garden of the National Gallery of Art.
Try out Francine's recipe for walnut & hazelnut bread
Perfect for a healthy gourmet brunch!
Ingredients (serves 6)
30cl water
1.5 tsp salt
500g flour for bread
60g walnut kernels, crushed
60g peeled hazelnuts, crushed
1 pouch instant dry yeast
Directions
with a bread machine
Pour all the ingredients together (water should be cold) and set to white bread.
by hand
In a large bowl mix the flour and salt. make a hole in the middle and pour the yeast and lukewarm water gradually. Mix with a wooden spoon, then knead for 6 minutes until the dough is supple and smooth. Add in the nuts and kned again. Cover with a clean towel and set aside 30 minutes at room temperature.
On a surface dusted with flour flatten the dough into a square, bring each corner to the middle, then turn around and shape the dough into a nice ball.
Put the dough ball on a lightly oiled baking tray, then cover it with a bowl or a clean towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 40 minutes. Preheat your oven to 240ºC (465ºF) 15 minutes before the end of the rise.
When the dough has risen, make criss-cross cuts on top with a serrated knife and sprinkle flour.
Place ramekins filled with water in the oven for a beautiful crust.
Bake at 220ºC (430ºF) on the middle rack for 35 minutes. The bread must have a nice golden color.
Let cool on a rack before slicing.