aixcentric

• Le Tour du Pain

  and

  A day in the life of the Chef Boulanger at Au Pavé du Roy

  

  Susan Gish writes: Sam and I went on a magical tour of Au Pavé du Roy: Artisan Patissier Chocolatier Boulanger Glacier Traiteur.

  Our rendez-vous was with Mme Laurence Campanella, who is the 3rd generation owner of the shop. She invited us to come on a morning in

  October, and we were very happy to accept her kind invitation.

  Entering the atelier, my first impression was how clean the bakery was.

  Everyone was wearing masks and working very cleanly.

  There are three Chefs: One for the Viennoisserie, one for the Patisserie

  and one for the Boulangerie. There are also bakers and apprentices.

  Le Tour du Pain in 3 stages:

  Stage 1: Viennoisserie

  Stage 2: Patisserie

  Stage 3: Boulangerie

  Stage 1: Viennoisserie: Our timing was perfect! There was a ‘peloton’

  of bakers in a row making pain au chocolat. One was cutting the puff

  pastry, another was filling with Valrhona chocolate strips, and another

  was folding the pastry.

  Three bakers all working together, riding the flat and then the hills

  together as a team, one ‘pulling off’ to get to the oven.

  They’d just finished forming the croissants and putting them into the

  oven as well. A tray of warm croissants came out and were ‘drafting’

  by us to deliver to the bakery and oh the smell was amazing!

  All are made with pure butter, pur beurre.

  Madame Campanella explained that Au Pavé du Roy is one of only two places in

  Aix-en-Provence that makes their own croissants.

  The Viennoisserie is also where the pain au raisin (escargot) and other

  breakfast pastries, are made. My favorite is their croissant made with

  pistachio creme and topped with slivered almonds. Or maybe the

  Nutella croissant! American style chocolate chip cookies, some with

  pecans, some with almonds!

  Stage 2: Patisserie: The next station was the patisserie. Here is

  where the magnificent cakes are made, the mille-feuille (pronounce

  that, beginner french students!), eclairs, fruit tarts…Au Pavé du Roy

  makes their own ice cream and sorbet, and has decadent ice cream

  cakes! Can’t wait to try one. In the freezer case was an ice cream

  cake with hazelnuts and a chocolate Hérissonne / Hérisson on top,

  guess what that is! (Answer: Hedgehog). They are an amazing

  chocolatier also. Chocolate cats, chocolate people, chocolate

  sculpture for every holiday…Oh, my gosh, navettes Marseillaises!

  We got one to try that day, yum!

  One of the bakers was making a pastry cream – créme patisserie.

  But this area is busier later in the day. The morning is meant for

  breakfast pastries, breads and lunches.

  Stage 3: Boulangerie: The bread ovens and bread stations are in

  the far back of the Atelier. Which leads us to:

  A day in the life of the Chef Boulanger at Au Pavé du Roy.

  Chef Jean-Marc Cicala.

  3:00 am:

  Chef Cicala wakes up to go to work.

  3:30-4:00 am:

  He arrives at the atelier and lights the oven first.

  4:00-5:00 am:

  His team arrives. There is one baker and two apprentices.

  The baker and adult apprentice arrive at 4 am.

  The underage apprentice comes at 5 am.

  6:00 am:

  Everyone in the bakery has a coffee and one of their own

  croissants or pain au chocolat. (except lately with the lock down,

  it isn’t possible to get the coffee from the Café next door)

  4:00 am – Noon:

  Following is the order and explanation of what the bakers do.

  Different breads require different amounts of kneading and rising.

  Pétrissage: Kneading the dough

  Pointage: Waiting for the dough to rise

  Façonnage: Shaping of the dough

  Stockage en chambre de pousse pour le lendemain:

  Cold Storage of the dough to retard the rise

  Cuisson: Cooking the bread

  Petrissage– The first part of the process. The kneading machine

  is started. This is not your typical dough hook in a KitchenAid

  or a bread machine. It’s quite a large machine and duplicates the

  motion of kneading by hand.

  Premiere Petrie–The kneading of the wheat flour baguette.

  Pointage–The dough is put into the Chambre de Pousse

  (proofing oven) overnight for 10/12 hours. There it ferments;

  rises slowly, and after they are ready for the:

  Faconnage-The shaping or forming of the bread.

  There is a Deuxième Petrie–

  A second kneading for their specialty sourdough baguette called,

  ‘La Parisse’. It’s made from very high-quality flour whose recipe

  was developed by Gaëtan, Paris Meilleur Ouvrier de France 1997.

  Other Petries/kneading are for:

  Whole wheat bread

  Ciabatta (olive oil and wheat)

  Organic bread

  Einkorn – petit épeautre – anciennes grains

  Seigle – Rye

  Cereal breads – multi-grain

  Sandwich bread

  Buns & Bagels

  Rustic breads

  While the kneading is taking place, the bakers cook the breads

  and alternate the work.

  They go back and forth between the above processes, depending

  on the type of bread that they are making.

  The apprentices bring the breads into the shop bakery all

  throughout the day, as they are made.

  On a typical day they make:

  150–200 baguettes

  100–120 banettes

  80-100 la parisse

  40-60 different specialty breads

  The same breads are made each day.

  Ingredients: Bread is only flour, water, salt & yeast.

  Nuts, honey, olive oil, dry fruits or vegetables, seeds are

  sometimes added.

  They use 10–15 different local flours.

  (The bakery as a whole, uses as many local ingredients as

  possible. The flour, eggs, and fruit (when seasonal) are local.

  12:00–1:00

  Jean–Marc’s work day ends. He goes home to eat his lunch with

  his family.

  I asked Chef Cicala a few questions about himself:

  Where have you worked?

  I have been at Pavé du Roy for 14 years, since 2006.

  I also worked in two different bakeries in Aix that are closed now,

  and 3 years in French Polynesia.

  When do you see your family?

  I see them in the afternoon, evening and every other weekend.

  Was anyone in your family a baker or a cook?

  If you have children, do they have interest in baking/cooking?

  No-one in my family was a baker or cook. I have one boy who is

  not really interested in baking.

  Do you enjoy being a Chef?

  I chose my job; I love making good bread!

  Finally, are you a sports fan?

  I’m not fan of foot, my hobby is Judo; I’m Judoka, a black belt.

  Thank you for reading, ‘Le Tour de Pain’. I hope it was pain-less.

  It was the yeast I could do to tell this story.

  Perhaps we can break bread together sometime soon!

  Au Pavé du Roy

  Artisan Patissier Chocolatier Boulanger Glacier Traiteur.

  04 42 26 22 81 – 9 Cours d’Orbitelle –just next to Hotel Roi René

  Open Tues-Sun 7:00am-8:00pm – aupaveduroy on Instagram.

  Photos by Sam Gish.

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