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Simon Lenormand
Published on
Jan 4, 2025 at 7:36 a.m.
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A few days before Epiphany, Monday January 6, Gino Daix is in the oven and at the mill. The boss of the Daix bakery, located on rue de la République in Neubourg (Eure) since 2019, is in the middle of preparing the galette des rois. It is one of the great highlights of the year for its business, behind Christmas and Easter. “You shouldn’t miss it,” confides the craftsman. Here, we don't freeze them, we make them as we go. This morning, there were two of us with the pastry chef, we made 200! »
And like every year, he revisits this essential part of French gastronomy, with an original creation: a pancake with almond cream and pralines, with crushed hazelnuts. “It’s a new recipe that came to me suddenly, just like that! We tasted it this morning, it’s really very good,” he boasts. Last year, he concocted a caramel-based recipe for the traditional January cake.
Customers like to taste something different.
Even if it is always the traditional frangipane which wins the prize, with approximately “60% of sales”, according to the professional, Gino Daix offers other flavors, such as raspberry, apple, chocolate pear and chocolate pistachio. “Customers like to taste something different, at least once in a while,” he explains.
For lovers of the south of France – and brioche – the baker also offers, on weekends, sugar crowns decorated with candied fruit.
In total, over the period, the baker expects to sell between 1,400 and 1,800 patties. “It depends on the years and purchasing power,” he analyzes.
A “richer and tastier” dough
His secret, which he does not hesitate to reveal, lies in the puff pastry and more particularly in the 'tempera': the flour-based mixture used to make the puff pastry. At Gino Daix, there is no water, but “milk, cream and egg yolk”reveals the craftsman. “It’s richer and tastier.” Then, the dough is prepared with a rolling pin and not by machine.
Another particularity, the baker creates 'reverse foliage': a method which differs from traditional puff pastry by the order of the layers of butter and dough. Here, it is the butter which surrounds the dough, which gives an even crispier and more regular texture. “It’s more difficult to do,” confesses the 47-year-old baker.
As for who makes the best pancake in Neubourg? The baker avoids getting into trouble and responds, tactfully: “We all work very well in Neubourg, and we each have our own customers! »
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