Baguettes and croissants at Ghyslain

I had a bad experience with carryout baguettes and a croissant at the Westport store this morning. The baguettes were horrible and the croissant not much better.

I was very disappointed. I expect such quality from places like Kroger, but not a place that specializes in such items.

[Robin Garr]

Aw, man, I hate to hear that. I dunno about croissants - Blue Dog is my go-to there. But when we had Ghyslain's baguettes at Brasserie Provence a couple of months ago, I had to admit that they were far more "Parisian" than even Blue Dog's beloved but more rustic style. If that option is gone and this wasn't a one-off, I'm going to be p!ssed.

I certainly agree with you that Ghyslain's Baguettes are deftly more Parisian than the one from Blue Dog or anyone else in town for that matter. I've actually never had their Croissants so I can't comment on them. I wonder if because they were more typical to what you find in Paris instead of what you typically find in the US that is what through James off? I've found the baguettes to be very consistent whenever we've been there.

Interesting that you mention this ... I just bought, for the first time, a couple of baguetttes from Ghyslain Westport this afternoon. We had one at Brasserie Provence for lunch today and it was sooo good I could have eaten the whole thing alone! Although I'm a huge Blue Dog fan, this bread is different but had a great crunchy crust. I'll post after we have one for dinner!!!

In my case, they gave me two underbaked baguettes with instructions to put them in the oven for 3-4 minutes at 350 degrees and slightly moistened. When I felt them they felt kind of old, but I let it go figuring they may feel different since I needed to finish them at home.

Once I baked them, the crust was nice, but the insides were like old, crumbly rolls--yuck! As for the croissant, it was bread-like, instead of flaky.

I think it was more of having inexperienced, none craftsmen on board who have minimal understanding of the product. Anything less than oven fresh at 10:00 am on a Saturday morning is unacceptable. I've had many baquettes of every style in my life. I understand various types. This was simply more a question of poor quality due to poor quality control, in my view.

In any case, I normally stop at Blue Dog when I get a chance. That stuff is top quality. I was hoping that Ghyslain would serve as a nice alternative. It seems that by these other posts that they do serve decent baguettes--that's good news. But these restauranteurs who want to franchise their places, especially bakeries, need to have skilled staff on hand at all times.

James,
We heated part of a Ghyslain baguette tonight and it was really good. However, I didn't exactly follow their directions . I did rub it with water then put it in a 450 degree oven for probably 8-10 minutes, took it out to rest for a couple minutes and then sliced it. We enjoyed the bread--the crust was crunchy and the inside soft and flavorful! It is a totally different bread than the BD baugettes but a tasty change! Never tried the croissants from Ghyslain...

James,
We heated part of a Ghyslain baguette tonight and it was really good. However, I didn't exactly follow their directions . I did rub it with water then put it in a 450 degree oven for probably 8-10 minutes, took it out to rest for a couple minutes and then sliced it. We enjoyed the bread--the crust was crunchy and the inside soft and flavorful! It is a totally different bread than the BD baugettes but a tasty change! Never tried the croissants from Ghyslain...

Carol,
Thanks for following up. Its good to hear that Ghyslain is putting out quality products. Based on the reaction of you and a few others who were pleased with what they've had there lately, it seems that the girl slipped me some old baguettes that should have long gone into either the trash or bread pudding bin!

I find their system of underbaking their baguettes a bit bizarre. In all of my baguette eating days I've never received an underbaked baguette before. One will either eat it within hours or throw it into the freezer soon afterwards. I tend to eat half of one in the car on the way home. Their system puts a damper on that.

I tend to eat half of one in the car on the way home. Their system puts a damper on that.

Maybe that's why they do it so the rest of the family gets a chance at it!

On "re-heating" or "finish baking" a loaf of bread:
During baking, starch molecules in the raw bread dough absorb moisture and become semi-firm setting the bread's crumb structure. Once the loaf is out of the oven and cools, the starch molecules reform from a gelatinous state and harden in a process known as starch retrogradation.
Reheating a loaf will temporarily allow the starch molecules to reabsorb some of the loaf's remaining moisture and become soft again, but this process is a short-lived one-time process and once the starch cools again, the molecules re-harden and there's even less moisture in the loaf.
So if you heat up any bread, eat it quickly while you can because once it's cooled, it can't be revived again.

Big Disclaimer- My son-in-law, Todd, is the Baker at Blue Dog and his parents, Kit and Bobby are the owners.

Hello,

I just thought I would shed some light on the Ghyslain baguette. It is much different than the Bluedog baguette (which I love too). We used to sell the baguette fully baked but then our customers were aggregated that they could not be reheated or really last until the next day. Just like John said, once they have been heated, they can't really be reheated. We had several requests to just sell the baguette par-baked so the customer could finish doing with it has he/she pleases. So we opted to just serve the par-baked ones. Now people come get baguettes and keep them, freeze them, and sometimes they heat half and then freeze the other half. That seems to be how our customers prefer it so that's what we stuck with. We do have a few that like to leave with a hot baguette and in the case, we will certainly heat it there for you and send it home with you hot and ready. Sorry James that you didn't enjoy the baguette or croissants; I'll reach out to you to rectify the problem. Thanks for all the info!

Kelley - Ghyslain Manager

Hello,

I just thought I would shed some light on the Ghyslain baguette. It is much different than the Bluedog baguette (which I love too). We used to sell the baguette fully baked but then our customers were aggregated that they could not be reheated or really last until the next day. Just like John said, once they have been heated, they can't really be reheated. We had several requests to just sell the baguette par-baked so the customer could finish doing with it has he/she pleases. So we opted to just serve the par-baked ones. Now people come get baguettes and keep them, freeze them, and sometimes they heat half and then freeze the other half. That seems to be how our customers prefer it so that's what we stuck with. We do have a few that like to leave with a hot baguette and in the case, we will certainly heat it there for you and send it home with you hot and ready. Sorry James that you didn't enjoy the baguette or croissants; I'll reach out to you to rectify the problem. Thanks for all the info!

Kelley - Ghyslain Manager

Kelley,
Thanks for responding both here and apart. I'll be by next Sat around 10:00 for two replacement baguettes and we'll call it even.

Look, I am very pleased to know that my case was not the norm. Whatever works best for the client-base is good enough for me. I've dined at the NuLu restaurant some time ago with my wife, and have picked up a baguette that was par-baked some time ago, as well. Nothing stood out as a negative at those times. The two locations in Louisville are wonderful additions to the city and I only wish you guys the best.

Thank you John and Kelley for your scientific explanations on reheating the different breads! Not being a baker, I found it extremely interesting. Louisville is very fortunate to have both Blue Dog and Ghyslain supplying our bakery needs!!!

I reheat the baguettes I make at home and also sometimes Blue Dog baguettes.

The way I do it, is to heat the oven to 400, and then to shut it off. I mist the baguette with some water, and put it on a lined pan in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes (depending on the size of the loaf-including width)

I think I prefer to buy my bread already completely baked, unless I have some reason to buy it partially baked.

[Robin Garr]

I just thought I would shed some light on the Ghyslain baguette.

Kelley, thanks for speaking up. That really shows off Ghyslain - and your pride in its product - in the best light. Applause!

I've enjoyed all the discussion. This is my first forum and I've learned a lot. I know the idea of the Ghyslain baguette is different so thanks for giving me a platform to discuss such things. I look forward to participating in more topics (not Ghyslain related)

Kelley