1
00:00:00,990 --> 00:00:03,540
APOLLONIA POILANE: In the
1930s, Saint-Germain-des-Prés,

2
00:00:03,540 --> 00:00:06,330
where our first
bakery is located,

3
00:00:06,330 --> 00:00:09,180
was an area with
artists and craftsmen.

4
00:00:09,180 --> 00:00:13,740
And it was known to be this
very Bohemian, philosophical

5
00:00:13,740 --> 00:00:14,670
neighborhood.

6
00:00:14,670 --> 00:00:18,930
My grandfather started baking
and exchanging bread for arts.

7
00:00:18,930 --> 00:00:21,420
The artists came to
the bakery, would

8
00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:25,530
have a loaf of bread painted,
and then eat the bread.

9
00:00:25,530 --> 00:00:29,070
This bartering has become
a tradition that's ongoing.

10
00:00:29,070 --> 00:00:31,440
The back room of
our bakery is clad

11
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,470
with the paintings, the
drawings, some photography,

12
00:00:34,470 --> 00:00:37,290
and even some ceramics
of those works.

13
00:00:37,290 --> 00:00:39,720
My father carried
on the tradition.

14
00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,800
He met Salvador Dalí in the late
'60s, and he used to say that

15
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,860
my father was his
favorite living Frenchman.

16
00:00:46,860 --> 00:00:50,220
One day, Salvador Dalí asked my
father to make a whole bedroom

17
00:00:50,220 --> 00:00:51,420
made out of bread.

18
00:00:51,420 --> 00:00:54,730
So my father made a bed,
he made the chandelier.

19
00:00:54,730 --> 00:00:58,530
And since that time, in the back
room of rue de Cherche-Midi,

20
00:00:58,530 --> 00:01:02,160
we've had a bread chandelier
brighten up the room.

21
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,160
I think for Poilane,
the art and bread link

22
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,760
has always been something
that has fed our sour dough.

23
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,730
[MUSIC PLAYING]

24
00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:25,580
At the bakery, we
have some bakers

25
00:01:25,580 --> 00:01:27,380
that are absolute
artists and who

26
00:01:27,380 --> 00:01:30,770
know how to craft the most
intricate decorations.

27
00:01:30,770 --> 00:01:33,290
These are things we do
daily at the bakery,

28
00:01:33,290 --> 00:01:37,370
and it has become a tradition
and part of our identity.

29
00:01:37,370 --> 00:01:40,430
We bake decorated loaves
for every occasion.

30
00:01:40,430 --> 00:01:43,410
And if you come in the
bakery on a typical day,

31
00:01:43,410 --> 00:01:46,310
you will have a bread that will
reflect what time of the year

32
00:01:46,310 --> 00:01:47,390
we were at.

33
00:01:47,390 --> 00:01:50,360
I put on my gray jacket,
and the reason I put this on

34
00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:52,730
is because this jacket
was given by my father

35
00:01:52,730 --> 00:01:55,010
when I was 14 years old.

36
00:01:55,010 --> 00:01:58,640
He taught me how to make these
little bread decorations.

37
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,470
In this chapter,
I will teach you

38
00:02:00,470 --> 00:02:03,500
how to use bread
dough as an art medium

39
00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:06,350
to create bread
decorations, whether you

40
00:02:06,350 --> 00:02:10,760
use them for a special
occasion or, say, placeholders

41
00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:11,689
for a dinner.

42
00:02:11,690 --> 00:02:13,640
The bread decorations
I have in front of me

43
00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:15,410
can be very simple--

44
00:02:15,410 --> 00:02:17,570
a leaf or a little heart.

45
00:02:17,570 --> 00:02:20,210
You also have some
more elaborate ones,

46
00:02:20,210 --> 00:02:25,400
like these little wheat ears,
the roses, the little birds,

47
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,760
or some more intricate
ones, like letters.

48
00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,000
The dough we're using
here is fortified dough.

49
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,780
It's a piece of dough to which
you add flour to the point

50
00:02:35,780 --> 00:02:38,930
that you're not able
to mix more into it.

51
00:02:38,930 --> 00:02:41,930
This way, it doesn't
grow in the oven.

52
00:02:41,930 --> 00:02:44,990
Once baked, it will look
like this decorated loaf

53
00:02:44,990 --> 00:02:46,460
or like these decorations.

54
00:02:46,460 --> 00:02:49,010
It won't move because the
glutens would otherwise

55
00:02:49,010 --> 00:02:51,210
make the decorations blow up.

56
00:02:51,213 --> 00:02:52,883
So you can take your
piece of your dough

57
00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,060
that you've left aside and
add some flour until it

58
00:02:56,060 --> 00:02:58,310
becomes resistant to more.

59
00:02:58,310 --> 00:03:00,980
Use your rolling
pin and roll it out.

60
00:03:00,980 --> 00:03:04,040
You will want to do
some doughs very thin.

61
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,820
They're almost sheet of
paper like or like a leaf.

62
00:03:07,820 --> 00:03:09,680
Some a little thicker
will allow you

63
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,250
to have a good base to add
some more decorations on them.

64
00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:15,290
And yet, some thicker
ones will help

65
00:03:15,290 --> 00:03:19,510
you create thicker decorations,
like little wheat ears.

66
00:03:19,510 --> 00:03:24,010
To make these decorations, you
need a good and sharp knife,

67
00:03:24,010 --> 00:03:28,330
water, and a little brush
to keep the dough hydrated.

68
00:03:28,330 --> 00:03:29,650
This is very much key.

69
00:03:29,650 --> 00:03:33,850
You need to keep it hydrated
in order for it not to crust.

70
00:03:33,850 --> 00:03:36,610
A rolling pin, and then
these little circles

71
00:03:36,610 --> 00:03:38,860
will just allow you to
have a more regular shape.

72
00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:42,160
You could even use the
screw cap of a water bottle.

73
00:03:42,156 --> 00:03:45,766
[MUSIC PLAYING]

74
00:03:45,767 --> 00:03:47,347
We're going to start
with the simplest

75
00:03:47,350 --> 00:03:49,400
decoration-- the leaves.

76
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,080
Now for this one, we're going
to use the thinnest dough.

77
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:58,150
And make this a little smaller
so I can work it more easily.

78
00:03:58,150 --> 00:04:02,140
And here, what I'm going to
do is just simply cut through

79
00:04:02,140 --> 00:04:04,300
to create the leaf.

80
00:04:04,300 --> 00:04:05,710
Very simple.

81
00:04:05,710 --> 00:04:08,310
The trick with this is
that anything you do

82
00:04:08,305 --> 00:04:10,185
and where you're sort
of tucking in the dough

83
00:04:10,180 --> 00:04:12,940
and trying to hide it
will reveal a baking.

84
00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:17,080
So any mistake you make here
will show once it's baked.

85
00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:19,609
And this is the
difficulty of it.

86
00:04:19,610 --> 00:04:23,360
Here, to cut the center,
you can use the sharp side

87
00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,910
of the knife using
it very thinly

88
00:04:25,910 --> 00:04:29,520
and having a very thin touch
or the back of the knife.

89
00:04:29,517 --> 00:04:31,097
I'm going to use the
back of the knife

90
00:04:31,100 --> 00:04:35,180
because it's really about
marking the leaf's veins.

91
00:04:35,180 --> 00:04:37,610
And in fact, the vein
at the tip of the leaf

92
00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:40,970
is usually thinner, so I'm
going to use the thinner part.

93
00:04:40,970 --> 00:04:43,640
Press it down so that
it marks down the dough,

94
00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:44,690
and that's enough.

95
00:04:44,690 --> 00:04:49,520
And then if you want to carry
on doing the veins of the leaf,

96
00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,600
you can create your own design.

97
00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,510
There's no perfect
way of doing it.

98
00:04:55,510 --> 00:04:57,880
It really is your inspiration.

99
00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,630
And you could either
bake it on nothing at all

100
00:05:01,630 --> 00:05:04,060
or bake it on a piece of bread.

101
00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:07,610
But the most important part
is that when you're done,

102
00:05:07,610 --> 00:05:11,950
you just water it out so
that it doesn't crust.

103
00:05:11,950 --> 00:05:16,420
The crusting will leave an
unfinished feeling to it,

104
00:05:16,420 --> 00:05:18,370
and that's what you
want to try and avoid.

105
00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:21,050
The water will also
stick to a wooden plank.

106
00:05:21,050 --> 00:05:25,090
So once you've done it,
give it a final form,

107
00:05:25,090 --> 00:05:26,470
and then make sure
you don't have

108
00:05:26,470 --> 00:05:30,070
to move it in a way that will
destruct your decoration.

109
00:05:30,070 --> 00:05:32,890
So that's the easiest, one of
the simplest decorations, ones

110
00:05:32,890 --> 00:05:35,140
that you can actually
do with your kids.

111
00:05:35,140 --> 00:05:38,250
That's a great way of getting
them accustomed to the dough.

112
00:05:38,254 --> 00:05:42,054
[MUSIC PLAYING]

113
00:05:42,050 --> 00:05:44,990
If you want to use
your dough as a base,

114
00:05:44,990 --> 00:05:46,970
use a little thicker dough.

115
00:05:46,970 --> 00:05:50,330
It can be about double the
previous dough, something

116
00:05:50,330 --> 00:05:53,820
that just feels like it
could hold something on it.

117
00:05:53,820 --> 00:05:56,810
I'm going to do a
heart as the base

118
00:05:56,810 --> 00:06:00,260
for the rose we're
going to do thereafter.

119
00:06:00,260 --> 00:06:01,560
Sharp tools are always better.

120
00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,070
So if you have a tool
that is of metal,

121
00:06:04,070 --> 00:06:07,270
it usually is more
effective than plastic.

122
00:06:07,270 --> 00:06:10,000
Now here, what I want
to show is that as soon

123
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,970
as you get to a dough
that's a little thicker,

124
00:06:12,970 --> 00:06:16,690
you want to make holes to it
so that it doesn't blow up

125
00:06:16,690 --> 00:06:18,280
in the baking.

126
00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:19,990
I've reinforced this
dough with flour.

127
00:06:19,993 --> 00:06:22,663
It shouldn't grow all that much,
but there's always a little air

128
00:06:22,660 --> 00:06:23,880
pocket that does the work.

129
00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,860
So if I'm going to use
the other side on top,

130
00:06:26,860 --> 00:06:29,440
I'm going to just poke
a few little holes

131
00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:34,150
so that any air pockets will
deflate as we're baking.

132
00:06:34,150 --> 00:06:35,710
So I have this as a base.

133
00:06:35,710 --> 00:06:37,840
And then a child may
decorate some of it,

134
00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:41,700
just to get themselves
familiar with the dough.

135
00:06:41,695 --> 00:06:45,945
This is really about
a quick touch-up

136
00:06:45,940 --> 00:06:49,870
in texture and no more.

137
00:06:49,870 --> 00:06:51,370
You can use a pen.

138
00:06:51,370 --> 00:06:55,630
You can use any types
of homemade tools.

139
00:06:55,630 --> 00:06:57,610
But once you're done
with your decoration,

140
00:06:57,610 --> 00:07:01,490
don't forget to add some
water to keep it moist.

141
00:07:01,490 --> 00:07:05,620
If your dough tends to dry,
it's not worth going further.

142
00:07:05,620 --> 00:07:07,750
Do not make any
decorations which you

143
00:07:07,750 --> 00:07:09,470
feel have dried up too much.

144
00:07:09,470 --> 00:07:10,840
It just won't look nice.

145
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,000
So I have my little base here.

146
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,270
So I'm going to make
the little roses.

147
00:07:16,270 --> 00:07:19,540
The roses are some of the more
delicate decorations to make.

148
00:07:19,540 --> 00:07:21,670
I'm going to use
the thinnest dough,

149
00:07:21,670 --> 00:07:23,840
and I'm going to
use little circles.

150
00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:25,390
And I'm going to cut out a few.

151
00:07:25,390 --> 00:07:30,120
The idea is you want to
have at least half a dozen

152
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:31,710
that you can play around with.

153
00:07:31,710 --> 00:07:34,260
And prepare them ahead
of time because it just

154
00:07:34,260 --> 00:07:36,040
makes your life easier.

155
00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,840
I start with just
wettening the center.

156
00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,540
In a rose, you have the
very center, the rosebud.

157
00:07:42,540 --> 00:07:44,940
So to do this, I start
with one little round,

158
00:07:44,940 --> 00:07:51,360
and I fold it on itself to
create the little rose heart

159
00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:52,850
in center.

160
00:07:52,850 --> 00:07:55,190
It's just very
delicate and simple.

161
00:07:55,190 --> 00:07:58,340
Very thin, but it
makes a difference.

162
00:07:58,340 --> 00:08:00,030
Then you're going
to add the petals.

163
00:08:00,030 --> 00:08:03,020
Now to add the petals,
hold your rose heart

164
00:08:03,020 --> 00:08:09,000
in one hand, wet each petal,
and start building your flower.

165
00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,170
Now here, you add
it from the center.

166
00:08:13,170 --> 00:08:15,380
When you're doing this,
think about the way

167
00:08:15,378 --> 00:08:16,168
you want your rose.

168
00:08:16,170 --> 00:08:18,300
Do you want it to be
very open, or do you

169
00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:19,650
want it to be very closed?

170
00:08:19,650 --> 00:08:21,750
Is it a morning
rose, or is it one

171
00:08:21,750 --> 00:08:24,410
that's been in the sun all day?

172
00:08:24,410 --> 00:08:27,170
And start adding
the little leaves.

173
00:08:27,170 --> 00:08:30,110
The water serves
as a way to stick,

174
00:08:30,110 --> 00:08:34,490
but also as a way for
the dough not to dry.

175
00:08:34,490 --> 00:08:38,970
So it's just about slightly
humidifying it and building

176
00:08:38,965 --> 00:08:39,465
your flower.

177
00:08:42,100 --> 00:08:43,960
There's no perfect order.

178
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:49,790
Nature does a beautiful job and
does create some asymmetries.

179
00:08:49,790 --> 00:08:53,960
You can even do a competition
of how many petals you can make

180
00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:55,260
and how big.

181
00:08:55,260 --> 00:08:58,020
But as it gets bigger, the
base is going to be larger.

182
00:08:58,020 --> 00:09:00,100
And so, bear that in mind.

183
00:09:00,100 --> 00:09:01,280
I'm going to stop here.

184
00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:05,200
I have a rose that's a
small little open flower.

185
00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,110
What might happen is the dough
might get a little slippery

186
00:09:08,110 --> 00:09:10,810
if you put too much water, or
it might get a little sticky

187
00:09:10,810 --> 00:09:12,100
if it's not enough.

188
00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:12,970
Don't be deterred.

189
00:09:12,970 --> 00:09:14,590
You can even start
it over again.

190
00:09:14,590 --> 00:09:16,940
The main thing here
is on the bottom,

191
00:09:16,940 --> 00:09:19,730
you want to make sure
that it's nice and flat.

192
00:09:19,730 --> 00:09:22,120
So you can use some scissors.

193
00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,400
It will squeeze out
the dough a little bit.

194
00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:30,690
But now, I have a clean
bottom to hold the dough.

195
00:09:30,690 --> 00:09:35,310
You can even go as far
as creating a little slot

196
00:09:35,310 --> 00:09:39,100
to ensure that it holds
the dough together.

197
00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:45,160
So here, you are just
putting the dough

198
00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,860
on the center of your
little heart base.

199
00:09:47,860 --> 00:09:49,690
Then you can add your leaves.

200
00:09:49,690 --> 00:09:52,810
If it needs a little bit
of water on the bottom,

201
00:09:52,810 --> 00:09:55,140
that's a good
moment to put it on.

202
00:09:55,140 --> 00:09:57,370
You can have one leaf here.

203
00:09:57,370 --> 00:10:01,850
And I'll put the
other leaf there.

204
00:10:01,850 --> 00:10:03,990
Now while this is
delicate, you will

205
00:10:03,990 --> 00:10:05,240
need to move it at some point.

206
00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,810
So grab your knife.

207
00:10:07,810 --> 00:10:10,180
And a good test is if
you can hold it up,

208
00:10:10,180 --> 00:10:12,200
even if it's just a
couple of seconds.

209
00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,180
If it holds in your hand enough
time to put onto the bread,

210
00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:20,510
then it will likely stay for
the entirety of the bake.

211
00:10:20,510 --> 00:10:23,300
So we have our little flower.

212
00:10:23,298 --> 00:10:27,168
[MUSIC PLAYING]

213
00:10:27,170 --> 00:10:31,490
And now we're going to move
on to the little wheat chaffs.

214
00:10:31,490 --> 00:10:34,250
You need to have
a thicker dough.

215
00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:37,190
Just roll a little
circular cylinder here.

216
00:10:37,190 --> 00:10:40,070
And then you can
use your scissors.

217
00:10:40,070 --> 00:10:45,890
We're going to cut one little
ear, another little grain.

218
00:10:45,890 --> 00:10:51,380
And use the center
of the little grain

219
00:10:51,380 --> 00:10:54,140
to move on to the next one.

220
00:10:54,140 --> 00:10:56,960
To make this easier,
you may decide

221
00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,970
to do at first a much
thicker wheat ear,

222
00:11:00,970 --> 00:11:03,000
and that's absolutely fine.

223
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,790
It'll help you design the
nicer ones thereafter.

224
00:11:06,790 --> 00:11:10,290
Now I have my little ear.

225
00:11:10,290 --> 00:11:14,100
You can use your
knife to take out

226
00:11:14,100 --> 00:11:18,990
a little bit of the thickness
to make your life easier.

227
00:11:18,990 --> 00:11:22,320
And just roll very
delicately the bottom

228
00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,380
because these little
grains are holding

229
00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:27,630
very lightly on the side.

230
00:11:27,625 --> 00:11:30,955
[MUSIC PLAYING]

231
00:11:32,850 --> 00:11:38,220
The last thing I'm going to
show you is how to make letters.

232
00:11:38,215 --> 00:11:39,595
So I have my banner
here, and I'm

233
00:11:39,590 --> 00:11:44,300
going to lodge the
different letters.

234
00:11:44,300 --> 00:11:48,140
To make the letters, I use
the slightly thicker dough,

235
00:11:48,140 --> 00:11:51,460
the dough you would
typically use for a base.

236
00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:54,460
And roll it underneath
your fingers

237
00:11:54,460 --> 00:11:57,010
so that it's perfectly rounded.

238
00:11:57,006 --> 00:12:00,446
And this will become your ink.

239
00:12:00,450 --> 00:12:04,020
So we can start drawing letters.

240
00:12:04,020 --> 00:12:06,780
Here, it's just about
drawing the letters

241
00:12:06,780 --> 00:12:08,820
with a thread of dough.

242
00:12:08,820 --> 00:12:13,740
And to finish it
off, use your knife.

243
00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:16,440
You do need to think ahead
of how long your word will

244
00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,320
be because once the
letters are positioned,

245
00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,070
you will not be able to
move them all that much.

246
00:12:23,070 --> 00:12:25,740
You may even decide
between one or two letters

247
00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:30,030
to add a little bit of water
to ensure that it sticks.

248
00:12:30,030 --> 00:12:34,050
Leave space on the side so that
then you can take out the sides

249
00:12:34,050 --> 00:12:36,460
and have a banner.

250
00:12:36,460 --> 00:12:41,020
These decorations can be baked
as is on a baking sheet using

251
00:12:41,020 --> 00:12:41,950
parchment paper.

252
00:12:41,950 --> 00:12:45,610
And you can use them thereafter
as just little pieces.

253
00:12:45,610 --> 00:12:48,430
You can also put
them on the loaf.

254
00:12:48,430 --> 00:12:50,680
If you're baking my
wheat sourdough loaf,

255
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,940
as you remove the lid,
put a little bit of water

256
00:12:53,943 --> 00:12:56,113
on the place you're going
to glue the decoration on,

257
00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:58,870
and that's the moment that
you're going to do it.

258
00:12:58,870 --> 00:13:03,280
But if you do so, don't
forget to not score the bread.

259
00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,130
Because the scoring
will impact the way

260
00:13:06,130 --> 00:13:09,790
the loaf grows and therefore the
way your decoration will hold.

261
00:13:09,790 --> 00:13:12,190
These decorations,
although edible,

262
00:13:12,190 --> 00:13:14,320
really should not be eaten.

263
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:15,850
There's nothing wrong about it.

264
00:13:15,850 --> 00:13:18,760
It's just reinforced
dough with flour.

265
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,100
It's just really not that tasty.

266
00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:24,430
These bread decorations can
be used for any occasions.

267
00:13:24,430 --> 00:13:27,670
When I was a child, my
parents had bread decorations

268
00:13:27,670 --> 00:13:29,890
done for every single birthday.

269
00:13:29,890 --> 00:13:34,300
I made bread frames for my
friends or little placeholders

270
00:13:34,300 --> 00:13:36,760
for a special occasion.

271
00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,850
I encourage you to experiment
and turn your loaf of bread

272
00:13:39,850 --> 00:13:41,200
into a work of art.

273
00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,500
[MUSIC PLAYING]