When I was a child I went to school in France. I thought the whole world ate like the French do. When I returned home for summer vacation, I would ask for croissants, baguettes and, of course, brioches. I always felt cheated when I was served a horribly inferior (faux) imitation. I finished up high school in the States but flew straight back to Paris as soon as I was accepted at the Sorbonne. I was always fascinated with chemistry so I investigated possible chemical differences between "American" baking techniques and the sublime French methods. I investigated the flour first and found that it is made from a different strain of wheat and has a lower protein level which makes a more tender product. But I soon discovered that just about every food product in France is superior to the rest of the world. The agriculture department has very strict rules about how foodstuffs are grown and cultivated. Very little pesticides and artificial chemicals are even allowed. But just about everything in the food chain is purer and more nutritious because the French keep it that way. For something as simple as bread this is vital to the whole eating experience - flour, water, eggs, butter, yeast have to be robust and not flaccid. When friends go to France I say, "Forget the Châteauneuf du Pape, bring me French flour and butter." I just happily received a big order from KAF so that I can make my beloved brioche. I asked Molly @ KAF if she thought it would be a good idea to mix the KAF all purpose with 1/3 KAF Mellow Pastry flours to get a version of the lower protein French flour that would make a more tender product. She agreed. I can occasionally find European butter but it is too expensive to use for everything. European butter is much lower in water than US butter. If I melt a pound and a quarter of butter and gently "cook" it for 15 minutes (you don't want to brown it for these purposes), the excess water will steam off. The milk solids will sink to the bottom and I use a gravy separator to pour off just the buttery oil. 5 sticks of butter will result in the equivalent of 4 sticks. I cover the butter and put it into the refrigerator to solidify. (This is like Indian gee.) When I use the butter in breads, I always include the KAF Baker's Special Milk to make up for the discarded milk solids from the steaming process. I wait until butter is on sale and I steam 5-10 pounds once a month and save it in several smaller containers and I can put some in the freezer. It's important to keep it covered so that it does not take on any refrigerator odors. I have two techniques which I learned in France for home baking: 1. if I am making pie dough (pâte brisée) I measure out the flour into a stainless bowl and put it into the freezer for thirty minutes (along with the butter and lard) to help keep the dough cold while working with it. 2. If I am making a yeast dough, I put the flour into the stainless bowl and put into the oven for 15 minutes at 250° to warm the flour before mixing which jump starts the rising process. And I ALWAYS bottled spring water in baking - chlorine never added any pleasant taste to baked goods. Well, I'm off to make brioche dough which I will bake off in individual fluted molds for breakfast tomorrow and two braided loaves for French toast on Sunday. Thanks for this long, newsy comment, Gordon. Wish I could share French toast with you Sunday - sounds wonderful... PJH

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