Banneton by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Bannette or banneton
This small wicker tray or basket, covered with a piece of linen cloth, is normally used to hold the dough at different stages of fermentation.
Bassinage by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Bassinage
Bassinage is the term for adding water to the bread dough while kneading, in order to gently relax the already shaped dough.
Boulage by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Boulage (rounding)
The action through which the baker gives an initial shape to the dough, which has been divided into several pieces, by gently squeezing the pieces and rolling them up into balls.
Chambre de Pousse by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Chambre de pousse (proofing cabinet)
The modern French baker relies on their chambre de pousse (proofing cabinet). This is a cabinet that can be used to heat or cool the dough (or to do both in alternation). The change in temperature can be precisely controlled to ensure that fermentation goes exactly as planned.
Corne by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
The corne or coupe-pâte (dough scraper)
A semicircular, semirigid utensil, 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) wide. Once made from animal horns (hence the French name corne), it is now made of synthetic material. The scraper is used to manipulate, unstick or cut the dough, but also to scrape the work surface and receptacles to eliminate all dough residue.
Couche by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Couche
A small linen cloth (lightly dusted with flour), on which newly shaped baguettes are placed, separated by folds in the cloth, before being baked.
Diviseuse by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Diviseuse (divider)
This very useful machine is used to divide the dough into many perfectly even parts. Here, a 15.4 lb (7 kg) piece of dough is split up into twenty even 12.3 oz (350 g) parts, which, once shaped and cooked, will produce twenty 8.8 oz (250 g) baguettes.
Façonnage by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Façonnage (shaping)
The manual (or mechanical) action of squeezing and rolling dough after weighing in order to make it into the desired shape. To make a traditional French baguette, the dough is shaped into an 8.8 oz (250 g) piece that's around 15.7 inches (40 cm) long.
MOF Joël Defives en train de fleurerSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Fleurer (flouring)
Fleurer is the action of sprinkling flour over the work surface, a board, a slab or a linen cloth. This is done to stop the raw dough from sticking to the surface.
Four à sole (deck oven)
Modern French bakers tend to use deck ovens. These ovens contain several decks or floors stacked on top of one another. In a boulangerie, deck ovens are used to bake bread and, in particular, baguettes.
Bakery Gosselin by Thomas DéronSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Frasage (mixing)
This is the first step of the kneading process (mixing the ingredients), where the dough begins to take shape. It's during this step that the baker decides how they'll make the bread and determines the texture of the dough via the amount of water in the flour.
Grigne by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Grigne, scarification or lamage
Grigne is the French term for the series of incisions made in the surface of the baguette just before it is put into the oven. By making the grigne, the baker helps the dough to expand while it's being baked.
This helps the heat get right into the center of the dough, and also acts as the baker's signature, as no two bakers cut these incisions in the same way.
Levain Dur by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Levain (sourdough starter)
The natural origin needed to ferment bread dough. The bacteria in the air naturally take seed inside this mixture of flour and water. Starters lend themselves to lactic fermentation that brings a sourness to the crumb compared to yeast, which favors alcoholic fermentation, which allows the dough to develop more quickly and with less acidity.
Nowadays, sourdough baguettes are less common.
Wood oven by Abril M BarruecosSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Oura
This is the name given to the duct at the back of a bread oven that lets out steam and gas (produced by combustion in wood-fired ovens). It also lets air in and helps the bread to dry out at the end of the cooking process if needed, letting excess steam escape.
P. Gosselin at work by Thomas DéronSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Panification (bread-making)
This is the French term for the entire process of making bread from the following elements: flour from various cereals, water, salt and starters or yeasts.
Pétrissage (kneading)
A slow kneading process is perfect for making traditional baguettes as it helps produce a good number of air pockets in the dough. Faster and shorter kneading is reserved for ordinary baguettes (also known as "white baguettes"), which have a greater number of small air pockets, giving it a bubbly texture.
Pointage by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Pointage (proving)
Proving is the first step in the fermentation process after kneading the bread dough. It's usually done by leaving the dough in the mixing bowl untouched for a while.
Rabattage by Vincent FerniotSociété nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
Rabattage (stretch and fold)
This is a method whereby the baker carefully stretches the dough to fold it over itself. This is done to release gas from the dough, to eliminate the excess carbonated gas bubbles that form during fermentation, and to spread them out evenly.
Vincent Ferniot
