Boule, from
French, meaning "ball", is a traditional shape of
French bread resembling a squashed
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
. A boule can be made using any type of
flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
and can be
leavened with commercial yeast, chemical leavening, or even wild yeast (
sourdough). The name of this rustic loaf shape is the reason the French call bread bakers and bread bakeries .
This bread is found especially in the regions of eastern France, such as
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
and
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
where a small town bears the name of
Boulot.
Representation in art
Boule bread appears in certain
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
paintings by the
Dutch painter
Dieric Bouts.
[<< Le pain et l'art >>]
published on the site "lepain.ch". A representation of Boule bread can be appreciated in the
still life
A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...
works of the Spanish painter
Luis Eugenio Meléndez (1716-1780), and also in the works of the French painter
Jean-Baptiste Chardin.
[ ]
See also
*
Bread roll
References
French breads
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