It is difficult to dream of traveling around the world because it is hard to go abroad easily due to the pandemic. As an alternative to this, there is a new way to travel around the world while staying in Seoul. Traveling around the world through bread. A bread representing countries around the world are dotted throughout Seoul, including near Sookmyung Women's University. Now, let's taste the bread of the world and experience their unique flavors.
Bread of the world
Bread is one of the oldest foods in the world. In the early days, bread was made and eaten without fermentation, but since ancient Egypt about 5,000 years ago, bread has been baked using naturally fermented flour dough. By the Greek era, baking techniques had spread to Europe, and confectionery and baking techniques had developed significantly.
So what are the representative bread of each country? First of all, the baguette, the representative bread of France, is shaped like a stick. The outside is hard enough to crack, and the inside is soft. Another typical French bread is a croissant. It is a pastry made by kneading flour and butter into layers and shaping it like a crescent, which gave it its name. Unlike the outside of the croissant, which looks like it's about to break down, the inside is covered with layers of flour. It also contains a lot of butter, so the more you chew it, the more savory it becomes. A galette is also a traditional French dessert. It is a round and crisp pie that can be used for meals or snacks depending on the ingredients in it. Focaccia represents another European country, Italy, and has a chewy and fluffy texture that resembles pizza dough. It contains some ingredients, such as onions, cheese, meat, and herbs. And Japanese bread is characterized by the ingredients that go into it. Most Japanese put their favorite things inside and outside of the bread, so there are many kinds such as red bean bread, melon bread, yakisoba bread, shrimp cutlet bread, croquettes, etc. Then what does Korean bread look like? Fish-shaped buns and bread similar to rice cakes are Korea's representative bread, but this reporter wanted to break away from this typical example and found a way to enjoy Korea more directly in terms of bread. The conclusion was the bread which was made of rice as described below. The next country is the U.S. The bread that comes to mind when people think of America is a donut. Donuts originated not in the United States, but in the Netherlands 400 years ago. When donuts were first made, they were called "oil cakes" because they were fried to the size of walnuts. And as they were similar in color and size to nuts, the word "doughnut" was changed to "donut." Now donuts are so prevalent in many countries, especially American donuts in the shape of rings with holes in the middle.
The world bread tour in Seoul
Now, the spots where you can experience bread from all over the world are introduced. Readers who want to travel to Europe can go to "Ours Blanc." It is located near the station in front of Hyochang Park, so it only takes about 10 to 15 minutes on foot to get there from SMWU. To introduce some representative menu items, the jambon sandwich, made with ham and cheese in a hard baguette, is perfect for those who like salty food. In addition, the galette has a deep savory and sweet taste with thick almond cream and minced nuts in the crispy pastry. Also, if you order potato soup here, the bread that comes with it is focaccia. If you dip the focaccia, which smells like herbs, in the soup, you can get the best flavor and texture. "Ours Blanc" has a large table on the first and second floors, so there is plenty of room to eat. Also, jazz and French chanson flow out of the store's speakers to maximize the feeling of being in Europe.
"Aoi-tori" in Hongdae is a Japanese-style bakery. The representative menu items here, which are baked by Japanese craftsmen themselves, include yakisoba bread, shrimp katsu bread, and green tea melon bread. Like its name, the yakisoba bread contains a Japanese-style noodle dish called yakisoba, which makes you feel like you are tasting a dish rather than just bread. The shrimp katsu bread is made with shrimp katsu, egg mayonnaise sauce, and some vegetables. The eggs were cut into large pieces, so they were not as greasy as this reporter thought they would be. And the green tea melon bread is formed by filling the melon bread with green tea cream. The melon taste is much stronger than the taste of green tea, so this reporter doesn't want to recommend it to those who want to taste the green tea flavor.
Next is Korea. Wheat, the main ingredient of bread, a representative Western staple food, is less digestible than rice, a major Eastern staple food. Here is a Korean-style bakery that is for the readers who don't like wheat but want to eat bread. It is "The Alien Mill" in Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong. All the bread is made of rice. This reporter ate cod roe seaweed bread, cornbread, and cheese ink bread, and the most recommended bread is the first one. The flavor of soft cod roe, onions, seaweed, and bread was impressive. When you eat bread from "The Alien Mill," you may not feel the peculiarity of rice bread, so you don't have to worry that it's different from bread made of wheat. The store has seven to eight tables where visitors can eat, and the creative and cute names of the menu there are also attractive.
The last bakery is "Overte," where you can taste American donuts. This is a vegan donut store, and all the donuts here are made of only vegetable ingredients, so it is also popular with vegans and dieters. "Overte," located near Hoehyeon Station, is also a store that considers the environment because it gives one more donut to visitors if they use their own packaging containers. This reporter also brought a container and received another plain donut. The most recommended donuts are earl grey, almond cream donuts, and garlic & cream cheese donuts. The store is narrow and there are only two very small tables, so it is difficult to eat there when the seats are filled with customers.
To the country you want
In this way, this reporter traveled to various countries such as France, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the United States through the bread. It seems that readers will also be able to travel around the world by visiting the above bakeries that suit their tastes and interests and experiencing the flavor, origin, and hidden stories of each unique bread. Bon appetite!
