Timeline
A day in the life of a French baker
Up at 3 am, the first baguettes at 7, a nap after lunch: follow a French boulanger's day hour by hour, then put it back in order.
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In short
A French boulanger starts in the middle of the night: around 3 h, kneading the dough (pétrir la pâte), shaping and baking so the shop opens at 7 h with fresh bread. Many bakeries close for a few hours after lunch and reopen in the afternoon until about 19 h 30.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- 3 hThomas se lève. Il fait encore nuit.Thomas gets up. It's still dark.
- 3 h 30Il pétrit la pâte pour les baguettes.He kneads the dough for the baguettes.
- 5 hIl façonne les pains et prépare les croissants.He shapes the loaves and prepares the croissants.
- 6 hLes premières fournées sortent du four.The first batches come out of the oven.
- 7 hSa collègue ouvre la boutique : les premiers clients arrivent.His colleague opens the shop: the first customers arrive.
- 13 hLa boulangerie ferme. Thomas fait la sieste.The bakery closes. Thomas takes a nap.
- 16 hRéouverture : c'est l'heure du goûter et des pains au chocolat.Reopening: it's snack time and pain au chocolat time.
- 19 h 30Fermeture. Il prépare le levain pour demain.Closing. He prepares the sourdough starter for tomorrow.
Key words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| pétrir | to knead |
| la pâte | dough |
| façonner | to shape |
| une fournée | a batch (from the oven) |
| le levain | sourdough starter |
| la sieste | a nap |
France has about 33,000 artisan bakeries, and many people still buy bread every day. A boulangerie must make its bread on site to use that name. Bakers often take one day off a week (jour de fermeture), and in summer some close for a few weeks, posting a sign with the nearest open bakery.
Une baguette bien cuite, s'il vous plaît !
A well-baked baguette, please!
Le lundi, c'est le jour de fermeture.
Monday is the closing day.