Fougasse for the Rich and the Poor
Background: Fougasse is a type of flat bread that originated in the region Provence in southeastern France. It was very easy and a quick...
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Discover Bread: A Staple of the French Revolution
Kyle Whitlock and Sarah Groh
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Introduction
Throughout the French Revolution, bread was a staple that sustained all members of society, both rich and poor. However, not all bread was created equal. While the upper class enjoyed delicacies such as brioche bread and fougasse, the lower class relied on bland, low quality loaves, often made from ingredients such as buckwheat and oats, to sustain themselves throughout national famines and food shortages. Not only was bread a clear indicator of one’s class within France’s strict social hierarchy, it also revealed other key information about a person’s life, such as the region in which they called home. While the ingredients found in brioche and buckwheat bread were more accessible in northern France, breads such as oat bread and fougasse were more commonly consumed in southern France, in places such as Provence. We chose to focus on the history and art of breadmaking for our final project because we believe that bread is both a delicious and tangible representation of France's diverse cultural landscape.
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The Breakthrough of Brioche
Background: Brioche bread arose from the region of Normandy during the Middle Ages. Normandy was famous for its production of the best...
Oat Bread: A Lower Class Staple
Background: During the French Revolution, popular styles of bread differed significantly between various regions and were largely...
A Broke Man's Buckwheat
Background: Bread made from buckwheat flour was a staple among lower class communities in northern France, particularly in places such as...
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Bibliography
Barrault, Sulpice-Edme Gaubier de, and Nicolas-Bonaventure Duchesne. Brioché, Ou, L'origine Des Marionettes: Parodie De Pigmalion. Chez Duchesne, 1753.
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Brace, Richard Munthe. “The Problem of Bread and the French Revolution at Bordeaux.” The American Historical Review, vol. 51, no. 4, 1946, pp. 649–667. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1843902. Accessed 1 Dec. 2020.
Bramen, Lisa. “When Food Changed History: The French Revolution.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 14 July 2010, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-food-changed-history-the-french-revolution-93598442/.
Drozhzhin, Natalya. “Easy Brioche Bread.” Momsdish, 4 Sept. 2020, momsdish.com/easy-brioche-bread.
“History of Brioche.” The Right Bake, 30 Mar. 2019, therightbake.com/history-of-brioche/.
James, Anderson, and Costa Leopaldo. “FAMILY AND FOOD DURING FRENCH REVOLUTION.” S T R A V A G A N Z A, 2007, stravaganzastravaganza.blogspot.com/2017/08/family-and-food-during-french-revolution.html.
Taine, Hippolyte. The French Revolution, Volume 1 [1878]. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2002. Online Library of Liberty. Web.
“Country Loaf.” King Arthur Baking, www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/country-loaf-recipe.
“Fougasse.” Allrecipes, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7157/fougasse/.
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