Two aspects of New Orleans French bread are distinctive. The first is its lightness. The interior often has large gaps and bubbles, and the crumb in general is quite airy. The other hallmark is the thinness and brittleness of the crust.
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One hundred years before Top Chef celebrated the glories of New Orleans food, local journalist and tour guide Flo Field highlighted the stories of Chretiens bakery and B.C. Francingues bakery in a 1913 newspaper article on New Orleans bread-making titled “How New Orleans Won Fame as Baker of Finest Bread Outside of France.” Field was a member of a small, vibrant, and short-lived bohemian social circle of writers, artists, journalists, preservationists, and hangers-on who settled in the French Quarter at the end of World War I, immersing themselves in the local scene. In addition to her work as a journalist, Field was also a playwright and the first French Quarter tour guide. [2] Field’s article gives a golden-hued “history of bread-making in Louisiana before the days of modern machinery, when the baker’s craft was a handicraft, indeed – fine loaves made with slave help – a few of the old bakeries still left.” [3] This romanticized and nostalgic story of “old-time” French bread is an example of an enduring narrative of the exceptionality of New Orleans shaped by authors in the post-Civil War years such as George Washington Cable, Lafcadio Hearn, and Lyle Saxon, spotlighting the notion of a disappearing and unique Creole culture. In bread-making, the narrative reinforced the importance of traditions begun in French and Spanish colonial New Orleans over other influences, including African, indigenous, and American.
In 1911, Bernard Francingues, another francophone, took over Chretien’s Bakery. The 1913 Field article described the manual labor of bread-making inside Francingues’ bakery: from mixing in long troughs to kneading, molding loaves, and baking in brick ovens — methods similar to those presently revived as part of the artisan bread movement. Field provides rare photos from the Francingues bakery of the ovens and some of the lost loaves of bread from one hundred years ago. In the early twentieth century, before widespread industrialization, popular types of bread in New Orleans included pain chapeau (cap bread), pain tresse (French twist), flute (old-style French bread), loaf bread, and frog loaves (small rolls). While some people today may remember a few of these lost styles of bread, most only know todays New Orleans French bread style.
In 2013, the reality cooking television series Top Chef filmed its eleventh season in New Orleans at 1231-33 Bourbon Street to revitalize the struggling restaurant and tourism industry following the effects of the 2010 BP oil spill on Gulf seafood. [1] While Top Chef showcased the charm and ingredients of the city’s cultural and culinary fame, another culinary story was buried just beneath the surface of the Hollywood film set. The pair of 1830s townhouses at 1231-33 Bourbon Street was also once home to two famous and now forgotten French bread bakeries: Chretiens bakery (approximately 1860-1911) and B.C. Francingues bakery (1911-1940).
In 1942, the Francingues family transferred ownership of the Bourbon Street property to La Societe’ des Dames Hospitalieres, an organization founded after the Civil War that owned several properties and housed indigent war widows. The building later became a nursing home, active until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In 2010, developers renovated the site as luxury residences. The French Quarter has long been the symbol and epicenter of New Orleans. The property at 1231-33 Bourbon Street is an example of the layers of history found within the Vieux Carre. The transformation of the property – from bakery to reality television film set also reveals an intriguing chapter in the story of New Orleans French bread and the development of the French Quarter as a tourist destination.
By 1867, the City Directory lists 170 bakeries in operation, more than double the number of bakeries just two years prior. [6] Chretien’s bakery was part of a vibrant neighborhood economy, operating “a flour warehouse, bread store, bakery and stable.” [7] In the early 1900s, bakeries often baked and delivered bread several times a day, both to homes and businesses. A former French Quarter resident recalled Chretiens bakery delivering long loaves of freshly baked bread daily to neighboring homes. [8] Gaston Alciatore, son of Antoine’s restaurant founder Antoine Alciatore, married into the Chretien family and is listed in census records as a baker at the same address as Chretien’s. It is possible that Chretien’s bakery also supplied the famous Antoine’s restaurant with its French bread.
New Orleans style Po Boy bread )French Bread)
Is there anyone who has a good formula for a REAL honest to goodness New Orleans style Po Boy bread. This bread is the basis for the famous Po Boy sandwich. P.S. I am not seeking a baguette recipe. Po Boy bread is long, like a baguette but thats where the similarities end. Po Boy bread is only made in and around New Orleans. Its crust is shatteringly crisp and paper thin. If I recall correctly it has a semi open crumb but no giant holes. I also think it has some ingredient that gives it a longer shelf life, like maybe 8 hrs. Purchased locally, in New Orleans, it is about 20 24 inches long and is more puffy than a baguette. Also it has much less chew than a baguette. I have a number of different formulas but none of them are close to the real thing. So, if you have a formula, recipe that you have made could you pls share it ? Thank you.
New Orleans French Bread
FAQ
What kind of bread do they eat in New Orleans?
What can I use instead of New Orleans French bread?
Why is French bread so different?
What is New Orleans style French bread?
Make this New Orleans style French bread in baguette or boule (ball) form. It’s the perfect bread for muffulettas or po’ boy sandwiches, and it is wonderful with gumbo or for mopping up the juices of barbecued shrimp. Or slather it with garlic butter and bake it for a fabulous garlic bread.
What is the best bread to eat in New Orleans?
Unless you’re lucky enough to get po’boy bread from New Orleans, the best bread to use should be light and fluffy inside with a thin, crispy crust on the outside—a French baguette, French bread rolls, or hoagies rolls are common swaps. Was this page helpful? Po’boy bread has a thin, crispy crust and a pillowy soft interior.
Who delivers fresh french bread at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans?
Bread man Kerry from Leidenheimer Baking Co., delivers fresh French bread on the first day of the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans Thursday, April 10, 2014. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Where is Leidenheimer bread delivered in New Orleans?
A Leidenheimer bread truck, with its iconic Bunny Matthews artwork on the sides, makes deliveries in the New Orleans French Quarter June 24, 2015. (Photo by G. Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) A daily delivery of Leidenheimer french bread at Commanders Palace, Tuesday September 11, 2012.