FOODIE THE
ISSUE
OUR DAILY
BREAD
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You can almost smell The French Corner Bakery’s delicious selections from across town … PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH ARNESON
“It’s hard to resist anything here,” admit
Carolyn and Morris Dean, loyal customers of The French Corner Bakery on North Pointe Drive, just off the I-85 Guess Road exit. With that in mind, we asked chef/owner Benjamin Messaoui for just four of his most versatile, most beloved breads along with his favorite ways to serve them. WHOLE WHEAT CRANBERRY AND PECAN “It’s unique. I cannot make
it fast enough! It’s a big seller and one of my signature breads. It’s not that sweet. … It’s a bread that can be wonderful just as a treat, toasted with some honey. And it’s very nice with a salad, with some nice balsamic vinegar. My wife also makes wonderful French toast with this. It’s so good with maple syrup. It’s heavenly.” FOCACCIA “The beauty of the
focaccia is that it’s a bread that can become the meal. Open it, brush it with olive oil, put in the meat you like, some sauteed mushrooms or glazed onions – oh, that’s good! – then more shredded cheese. Put the top back, rebrush it with olive oil and add more cheese. Put that in your oven, and the bread becomes a 10-minute meal. It’s yummy.”
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D u r h a m
M a g a z i n e
BAGUETTE “Not only is it a
classique, but in France, it’s a serious matter. There is legislation about the baguette. It’s called the baguette de tradition. You can make sandwiches with this. You can make croutons. You can eat it with jam or cheese. Anything. It’s a winner. If you don’t know what bread to eat with [something], get a baguette.” CHALLAH “The challah is pretty
close to my heart because it’s my mama’s formula that she taught me when I was 15. Maman was a Jewish Ashkenazi from Poland – this was the bread that she did for Shabbat. It’s a sweet bread with eggs, milk, sugar. Of course, it’s a bread that can be eaten with sweets, like challah and Nutella, but you can also put pretzel salt on it [or] brush the top with a mix of water and baking soda, and that will be very similar to pretzel bread.” – Virginia Robinson DM
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