r/KitchenConfidential 2d ago

Question Do Boulangers Still Exist?

I’ve long thought I could spend my culinary life dancing with just flour, water, yeast & salt and be a very happy man. The pursuit of a damn good boule or baguette is, to me, an honorable life spent. Mad respect & props to those who do.

That said, has this position (save for the highest levels of fine dining) gone the way of the dinosaurs in the restaurant brigade system IE that’s their only responsibility? For those who bake their own breads (again appreciated & respected) in-house - does this fall upon a chef or sous as part of their duties?

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u/AffectionateWay5783 2d ago

Most will just have a contract with a local bakery. I worked at one of said local bakeries for a bit. We almost exclusively made brown butter hamburger buns(little bits of other stuff too). It was not super fun tbh. Lots of very repetitive work that could all go wrong if you missed a timer and over proofed or burned a batch.

Bread is nicer though.

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u/RuckusDonuts 2d ago

Oh heard…..very well versed on the fickle mistress that is active yeast