Passer à la boulangerie 🥐

Coucou tout le monde! 🌞

Today is very special because today’s edition contains The French with Amélie Bread-dex 🥐. A sacred and exclusive section that could only possibly be entrusted to my subscribers!

During Covid I went on an artisanal bread hunt, and found my baking skills instead! Pain au chocolat dreams, burnt sourdough nightmares. Bakery mission: operation "Don't Drool on Display Case". Bread sliced thin, my dignity sliced thinner.

Pendant Covid, j'ai fait une chasse au pain artisanal : trouvé mes talents de boulanger à la place. Rêves de pain au chocolat, cauchemars de pain grillé. Mission boulangerie : opération "Ne pas baver sur la vitrine". Pain tranché fin, ma dignité tranchée plus fine encore.

Let’s talk bread!

A 💜

Passer à la boulangerie 🥐

Dialogue du Jour

Maxime: J'ai une envie folle ✪ de croissants.

Eva: Ça me donne faim, rien que d'y penser . Vas-tu acheter quelque chose d'autre ?

Maxime: Je pense prendre un Pain au Chocolat, et toi ?

Eva: Un Croissant aux Amandes serait parfait. Je me demande s'ils ont aussi des Pains aux raisins.

Maxime: Bonne idée ! On peut aussi prendre Un pain au levain pour demain matin.

Eva: Oui, c'est délicieux avec de la confiture. Tu sais, j'ai lu quelque part que beaucoup de gens tombent dans le panneau ✪ et achètent des pains industriels.

Maxime: C'est vrai, mais ici, c’est du gâteau ✪ de trouver du bon pain artisanal.

Eva: Absolument. D'ailleurs, préfères-tu le pain tranché ou entier ?

Maxime: J'aime bien le pain tranché, c'est plus pratique. Et toi ?

Eva: Pareil. Ah, nous y voilà. Bonjour Madame, je voudrais un Croissant aux Amandes et un Pain aux raisins, s'il vous plaît.

Maxime: Et pour moi, un Pain au Chocolat et Un pain au levain. Vous préférez le pain tranché ✪ ?

Vendeuse: Oui, bien sûr. Et avec ceci ? ✪

Maxime: Ce sera tout, merci. 

Eva: Ça sent tellement bon ici, j'ai hâte de goûter tout ça.

Maxime: Moi aussi, allons vite à la maison pour déguster nos trouvailles.

♡ 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 👇

Translation

B: I have a crazy craving for croissants.

M: Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Are you going to buy anything else?

B: I'm thinking of getting a Pain au Chocolat, what about you?

M: An Almond Croissant would be perfect. I wonder if they also have Pains aux raisins.

B: Good idea! We could also get a sourdough bread for tomorrow morning.

M: Yes, it's delicious with jam. You know, I read somewhere that a lot of people fall for it and buy industrial bread.

B: It's true, but here, finding good artisanal bread is a piece of cake.

M: Absolutely. By the way, do you prefer sliced or whole bread?

B: I like sliced bread, it's more practical. And you?

M: The same. Ah, here we are. Hello, I would like an Almond Croissant and a Pain aux raisins, please.

B: And for me, a Pain au Chocolat and a sourdough bread. Do you prefer sliced bread?

Vendor: Yes, of course. Anything else?

B: That's all, thank you.

M: It smells so good in here, I can't wait to taste all this.

B: Me neither, let's go home quickly to enjoy our finds.

✪ Notes

une envie folle = a crazy desire. Imagine you're standing outside a patisserie, drooling over the pastries. You'd say, "J'ai une envie folle de tous les acheter!" (I have a crazy desire to buy them all!). The kind of phrase you'd use when your desires are dancing the can-can!

tomber dans le panneau ✨🧩 = to fall for it. Examples are best.

“C'est époustouflant comme les masses tombent dans le panneau” (It's amazing how the masses fall for it) "J'ai acheté cette montre en solde, mais je suis tombé dans le panneau, elle ne fonctionne même pas!" (I bought this watch on sale, but I fell for it; it doesn’t even work!). Classic tourist trap scenario! mordre à l'hameçon = to take the bait

c’est du gâteau ✨= c'est facile = it’s a piece of cake. You're asked to babysit a cat, and it's so easy it practically takes care of itself. You'd brag, "Garder ce chat, c’est du gâteau!" . Bakery themed lesson to pull this one out! (obviously). 

tranché = morceau coupé dans la largeur = sliced. Mostly bread and ham get this treatment. 

Et avec ceci ? = Vous désirez autre chose ? = Anything else with this? / Is that all?
This is the classic line you hear at every French bakery. After ordering, they'll ask, "Et avec ceci?”. It's the polite way of saying, "Are you sure that's all you want from this temple of deliciousness?"

*✨ = especially ‘Frenchie’ words/phrases you should try and use more
*🧩 = ‘canned’ expressions or phrases that are best learned as a whole, like puzzle-pieces.

The French with Amélie Bread-dex 🥐

le pain artisanal - artisan bread
The good stuff. Where each loaf is a masterpiece, and the baker is the artist. Probably has a bread beret!

un pain au levain - sourdough bread
The bread that takes its sweet time to rise. Growing more an more popular because of it’s gut health benefits. The baguette still reigns supreme in France though. But every French lesson every talks about it and French with Amélie strives to give you something different!

pain au Chocolat - no translation possible or required
It's like someone took a croissant and said, "Let's add chocolate, because why not?" A breakfast of champions... and chocoholics.

croissant aux Amandes - almond Croissant
Imagine a croissant went on a fancy holiday and came back wearing an almond coat. Pure elegance in pastry form.

pain aux raisins - raisin bread
Don’t be deceived by all these ‘pain’ names giving you the idea it’s all the same or all basic. It’s all butter pastry! Often called escargot cause of the shape. 

Dialogue Audio 🎧

Slower Audio 🐢

Writing Prompt ✍️ Alors, quel est ton type de pain préféré ? Pourquoi est-ce celui que tu aimes le plus ?

All answers are welcome. One word.. or one sentence.
Write me your answer in the comments. I can’t wait to read them! 👇🏼

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Exercise 1 - Fill in the blank 💪

Quickly test your comprehension, accelerate your learning. 🚀

1. Be careful not to __ en achetant des produits trop chers inutilement.
   Be careful not to fall for it when buying unnecessarily expensive products.

2. Dans cette boulangerie, lorsque vous achetez du pain, ils demandent toujours : "__ ?"
   In this bakery, when you buy bread, they always ask: "Anything else?"

3. Pour un boulanger expérimenté, faire du pain, __.
   For an experienced baker, making bread is a piece of cake.

4. J'ai __ de manger de la glace en été.
   I have a crazy craving to eat ice cream in the summer.

5. Nous allons __ ce nouveau restaurant italien ce soir.
   We're going to try out this new Italian restaurant tonight.

If you’re struggling the ✪ Notes section is always a good place to look. 😉 The answers are all in the dialogue or notes section.

[NO PEEKING] Answer Key: 1. tomber dans le panneau  2. Et avec ceci ?  3. c’est du gâteau  4. une envie folle  5. déguster

Exercise 2 - Translate ⚡

If you can translate each of these sentences after the lesson then you’re making real progress. They can also me used as flashcards.

1. La vue depuis cette montagne est absolument époustouflante, mieux que sur les photos.  

2. Le boulanger a tranché le pain devant nous, c'était fascinant à regarder.  

3. Après avoir choisi nos viennoiseries, nous avons dit à la vendeuse, "Ce sera tout, merci."  

4. Ce matin, le petit déjeuner était parfait avec du pain frais et de la confiture de fraises.  

5. Un croissant aux amandes serait parfait avec mon café ce matin.

1. The view from this mountain is absolutely breathtaking, even better than in the pictures.
2. The baker sliced the bread in front of us, it was fascinating to watch.
3. After selecting our pastries, we said to the saleswoman, "That will be all, thank you."
4. This morning, breakfast was perfect with fresh bread and strawberry jam.
5. An almond croissant would be perfect with my coffee this morning.

✉️ Votre invitation en France cet été

Tu as des questions, des suggestions, ou simplement envie de discuter ? Je suis là pour toi.

Prenez soin de vous, mes amoureux de la langue française! ❤️

Amélie x