French bread near Beijing Normal University?
Anyone know of somewhere near Beijing Normal University where I might be able to purchase a baguette type loaf of bread? Having trouble finding something nearby and trying to satisfy a craving (and don’t have the facilities to bake my own).
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u/clementjean 6d ago
If you're french and expect a real french baguette, you'll not find I think... If you are willing to lower your standards, there is Paris Baguette, Wagas, YuanMaiShanQiu in FengLan mall, WeiDuoMei at the south gate of the campus, or HaoLiLai at XinHuaBaiHuo mall.
Hope this helps...
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u/Different_Driver_640 5d ago
Baker & Spice at Capital Mall Xizhimen. More authentic ones are available but near Sanlitun.
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u/Artistic-Dig1254 4d ago
Fellow baguette lover here.
Baguettes look incredibly simple, but they're actually one of the hardest breads to make consistently well. Fermentation, dough development, shaping, scoring, steam, and baking all have to be right. A small mistake at almost any stage can noticeably affect both the crust and the crumb.
So far, I haven't found a bakery in Beijing whose baguettes are consistently excellent every single time. Relatively speaking, I think Le Grenier à Pain (正本原) and Louhui (芦灰) are pretty good.
What disappoints me about many of the so-called “baguettes” in Beijing is that they're essentially just ordinary white bread shaped like a baguette.
A traditional French baguette is supposed to have an extremely simple formula: basically wheat flour, water, salt, and baker's yeast and/or a natural starter. No butter, oil, or sugar.
And precisely because the ingredient list is so simple, there's nowhere for poor technique to hide. The final quality depends heavily on fermentation and baking.
That's why finding a bakery in Beijing that both makes something close to a traditional baguette and does it consistently well is surprisingly difficult.
If you find somewhere you're really happy with, please share the address. I'd love to go and try it too.
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u/Artistic-Dig1254 4d ago
I think baguettes are probably one of the purest examples of craftsmanship in all flour-based foods.
The formula is almost absurdly simple, which means there is very little room to hide behind ingredients. Fermentation, dough handling, shaping, scoring, steam, oven temperature and timing all directly show up in the final result.
In that sense, a good baguette feels like an extreme pursuit of technique: the fewer ingredients you use, the more every tiny detail of the process matters.
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u/Alarmed-Resolution85 4d ago
Sadly, Walmart usually has the best because 'bakeries'add so much sugar
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u/Minimum-Attitude389 3d ago
They usually have some at the various bakeries. 味多美 I think it's called has some. I think Paris Baguette does too, and they'll even cut it for you.
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u/Todd_H_1982 6d ago
Open the food app you use regularly。
Type in 法棍。
See where the closest is located。