A while ago I was in France to visit the annual flea market in Lille. We have been there several years before and love to stroll around, and visit some great bakeries and enjoy some awesome French baguette.
While I was walking around I've noticed a copy of this Lenôtre book. The title is :
"Faites votre pâttiserie comme Lenôtre."
It came out in 1975! It has similar recipes inside like the other Lenôtre book I own, slightly more modern though.
What is also cool about this book is that all the recipes are made by chef Lenôtre's daughter and is aimed at the beginner (even though the book warns that some recipes are for the advanced baker.)
Second cool thing about it is that is is used, has stains, has scribbled notes in it, and almost falls apart. That is also something I like about it, the previous owner has used it!
I am a purist, and that is why I like this book so much. It contains all the great classic recipes like : croissants, brioche, pains aux raisins, éclairs, gaufres, Saint-Honoré and a ton more. I took a (crappy) picture using my built in iSight webcam, the quality isn't that great but I admit I was too lazy to take the digital camera and get a decent shot of the book. I hope you still enjoy though.
This weekend I made the brioche dough from the book and it was delicious. I also made a loaf containing dried fruits soaked in Rum and that gave a delicious flavor after baking. The alcohol evaporates and the taste stays inside the loaf. Great!
I also made some small rolls and a large brioche.
I know it might be impossible to find this book (which is totally written in the French language) but I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to see how some classic pastry/bread was made like 30 years ago. Highly recommended!
