Traditional Cob
Loaves |
The Bread Road |
| It's
dark out. A plain-looking shop window, in a commercial zone next to
Grignan. Is this the place recommended by an inhabitant of Saint-Andiol,
in Ardèche ? |
 |
You have to bow your
head to reach Claude Eminet's den. Powdered hair, pale complexion,
he throws volleys of white fir on to the unbearable blaze. Enormous
flames, rising from the hearth, shoot out from the throat (the cast-iron
lid cut through the side), which he orients in all directions to
heat the vault. Then he sticks in the oven, any old how, country
pies, traditional cob loaves (his favourites), croissants, baguettes.
"Instinctively guided by the heat and the smells that the oven
gives off", he soon removes the items, places them still smoking
on to the linen mat, and starts again.
|
| In
the warm, dark bakehouse, exquisitely fragrant, Claude confides: "I
would like one day to work in front of the people, so that they'll
know how their bread is made." A hypnotising ballet of his shovel,
himself, the flames. A gentle torpor overcomes us. But the man who
"allows the bread all the time it needs to rise, with natural
yeast made of flour, water and fermented apples", barely takes
the time himself to breath. The last batch is ready. Above, the light
is harsh, it's cold out. The shop is full. |
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