The Kayser’s empire

Despite the constant efforts I make to remove all prejudice before engaging in an interview, one can’t help but have a few preconceived notions about certain interviewees.

First of all, his name carries considerable weight. Eric Kayser sounds imposing, powerful and, for those of us who know a little German, Kayser, or should I say, der Kaiser, literally means “emperor” and most often refers colloquially to Kaiser Wilhelm II of the 19th-century German empire. That’s some serious stuff. Add that to the fact that this guy has 32 bakeries in France alone and over 80 worldwide, all bearing his name and his army of crusty bread.

From the Americas across Europe to Northern Africa and Asia, the sun never sets on Kayser’s empire. A formidable feat for someone just a few months shy of his 50th birthday.

When I finally met the Kayser himself with his flaming red hair, laughing eyes and mischievous smile, he seemed much more like the friendly, easygoing Duke of Dough than omnipresent and imperial. (Although I have yet to see his demeanor aux fourneaux!) Accompanied by the CEO of Maison Eric Kayser Asie Ltd., Luc Boulet, instead of the usual business-like blah-blah interviews, I had to, in fact, redirect the conversation, as they had begun to interview me! The minutes that ensued afterward were full of warm, playful banter, boisterous laughter and an undeniable passion de la pâte — passion for the dough.

Born to a family of bakers in the often-disputed eastern region of Lorraine (Alsace-Lorraine has been disputed over by France and Germany since medieval times and most famously was annexed by Prussia in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 — an important factor in the unification of Germany and World War I), hence the Teutonic last name, young Eric flourished at the warm hearths of bread- and pastry-making.

“The smell!” he exclaims. “My most vivid childhood memory is the smell. The rising dough, the baking bread, the butter and the flour… The distinct odors of a bakery.”

We most definitely can relate to how intoxicating that is. My early days as a student in Paris had me ambling through cold, damp street corners during sad, dark winter mornings, with only the potent perfume of freshly baked bread wafting through the vents and the promise of a hot, flaky croissant to keep me going.

With such an enticing and conducive childhood environment, it’s no surprise that he baked his first pastry at the age of nine. “It was a tarte aux pommes! An apple tart. I’ll never forget that.”

“Was it any good?” I asked and he laughingly shares, “Well, I ate it all! So I suppose it must have been!”

Absolutely no pretense, and a true respect for doing things à l’ancienne instead of going farfetched and overly conceptual. When I ask what his “dream bread” or “dream pastry” would be — no holds barred, any ingredient or technique available — he answers humbly, “I think I’ve already made it. With Gerard Rubaud, we made a true pain au levain à l’ancienne right down to the wood-fired oven. It was truly beautiful.”

To understand good bread is to understand the concept of levain. Levain is a wild yeast starter found in kernels of rye, spelt or wheat. Activated by water and heat, it’s basically a dough that lives. The wild yeast flourishes from the sugars converted from flour and produces gas and alcohol, which give that signature airiness and flavor. A  good levain is like a friendly monster and needs to be fed constantly. A few famed boulangeries in Paris, notably Poilane, is said to have the same mother dough from when it started! Kayser’s genius was that in 1994, he developed, along with colleague Patrick Castagna, the “fermentolevain,” a machine that allows the use of liquid levain and facilitates bread production. Instead of the usual 15 hours, it only takes four hours for the dough to rise and doesn’t compromise quality and flavor.

No wonder his breads are always extremely crusty, full of air pockets and possess that distinct, chewy texture and nice tang. Yes, people. The bread is meant to be hard on the outside. Meant to have lots of holes on the inside. And yes, meant to be consumed immediately. Stale bread or viennoiseries that go soft when they get old are not the best quality. The test of an excellent croissant, for example, is: as it ages, it gets harder and harder, not soft and pillowy. A good Frenchman buys his bread in small quantities fresh every day. My favorite is the tourte de meule — gloriously crunchy, chewy and sour, and when not eaten quickly can serve as a good weapon to ward off unwanted solicitors. Now, that’s a good bread!

Towards the end of our interview, Eric and Luc kept interrupting me and proffering some deliriously good pastries. “Éclair? Croissant? Kouing Aman? Allez, tenez — go take it. Please. Eat! Eat!”  

I tried as politely as possible to nibble on a sticky, flaky piece of goodness while I shot out my last interview question and the most important one of all: “So, what does Eric Kayser like to eat from Eric Kayser?”

“Ah,” he says with a big, toothy grin, “for breakfast, the Kouing Aman trempé dans le café — dipped in hot coffee. Also for breakfast, a good croissant with some confiture également trempé dans le café!” His eyes sparkled as he smacked his lips, possibly tasting it in his mouth, and continued, “At noon, a little bit of the tourte de meule with some gibier.”

Hmmm…  A true country child at heart, I could almost imagine him breaking the bread with his hands and eating it with some game in out in an open field somewhere by the mountains.

“And the best of it all, in the evening, a piece of baguette pour saucer un plat!”

And, like a true Frenchman crazy about bread, he closes his eyes and makes the hand gesture as if to wipe the plate clean of the delicious sauce with a good, crusty piece of baguette. Then he opens them wide and flashes a big smile. “Allez, Stephanie. Tenez. Another Kouing Aman?”

* * *

Éric Kayser Boulangerie et Patisserie Grab and Go is found at the Marketplace by Rustan’s, Lower Level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati. Its flagship bakery and café is soon to open at Greenhills Promenade.

Recipe File

Don’t take breads and pastries at face value. They are not meant to be nibbled on as appetizers to appetizers, like we so often do in a resto. In France the bread basket stays on the table to accompany you every step of the way: to push salad onto a fork; to sop up the remaining bits of sauce on a plate. Often it’s even the main dish itself.

Make yourself a tartine by slicing a broad and thin piece of that tourte de meule, add some grilled veggies, smoked Parma ham, a little goat cheese and toast it up in the oven and serve with a side salad for an easy tartine lunch. Feel free to mix up the toppings.

Another great way to really highlight the goods? Take a few excellent croissants — the flakier and crispier, the better. Day-old ones work really well and turn it into a fabulously rich dessert. The trick? Use lots of butter.

CROISSANT BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 large butter croissants

6 eggs

2 cups cream

1 cup milk

1/2 cup raisins soaked in rum (preferably overnight)

6 tbsps. butter

pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 cup light brown sugar

 Procedure:

Cut the croissants into two-inch cubes. Whisk nutmeg, eggs, milk and cream together. Assemble croissant pieces in a buttered baking dish that can also be used for serving. Pour the cream mixture over them. Using your hand, squish the croissants to absorb the liquid. Let sit around 15 minutes or so for maximum absorption. Add the raisins (strain first) and make sure they go a little bit everywhere.  Take the butter and insert little pats of it everywhere — some on top, some below. Sprinkle sugar on top of the dish. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 or 200 degrees C for about 20 to 30 minutes. The cream mixture should be set and the top crisp and golden.

Rum caramel sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2-3 tbsps. butter

4 tbsps. rum

1/4 cup cream

pinch of cinnamon

Procedure:

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together on low heat until a light caramel forms. Add the rum and whisk well. Bring up heat to medium and add cream and cinnamon. Whisk everything well — the sauce should be a not too thick and heavy, more like a runny syrup. Serve warm with the pudding.