Heaven in the liquid leaven

THE PERFECT place to while away the early morning over coffee, croissants and the newspaper, the recently opened Maison Eric Kayser on Soi Thonglor brings a touch of Paris to Bangkok with a range of scrumptious French home-made breads and pastries.

Born and raised in a family of artisan bakers, Kayser has been baking since the age of 14. After an apprenticeship in the South of France, he became a companion of the prestigious Tour de France of baking at the age of 18 and worked at the French National School of Bakers training young bakers for more than a decade. 

Fame came unexpectedly in 1994 when he invented a bakery-processing machine, the Fermento Levain, which creates and maintains liquid leaven for Electrolux Baking. Two years later, he put his invention to use in his own Paris bakery producing Baguette Monge, a much-loved French stick with dense and irregular crumbs, big holes and better elastic texture. 

Today, Maison Eric Kayser has more than 110 stores in 23 countries including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Lebanon, Ukraine, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, America, Singapore and Russia.

The Bangkok branch, which opened at the end of March, is run by Epicureans, a multi-national that aims to bring “nothing but the best food experience” to Thailand. 

“Two years ago, I spent a vacation in Thailand and immediately saw Bangkok’s enormous potential. Thai people like brand names so it made sense to give them more choices,” says Hidenori Matsuura, general manager of Epicureans. 

“Eric Kayser has over 100 stores around the world including 26 in Japan alone. In addition to his baking talents, he’s a savvy businessman and knows how to develop his brand.”

The bakery and restaurant on Thonglor is welcoming and comfortable. Fresh bread and croissants are piled in baskets on the counter, their rich aroma permeating the air and inviting the customer to take a seat on a comfy sofa and try some. A long wood table surrounded by stools stands in the centre while the balcony has a few tables and chairs for those who prefer to eat al fresco.

The kitchen is in the hands of executive chef Satit Chaosakul, a graduate of Le Condon Bleu Dusit Culinary School. Customers can watch as he mixes flour, water and salt, submits them to a natural acid fermentation to ensure the dough rises and then kneads it slowly by hand.

The store has about 50 kinds of breads and pastries on offer every day. They include such sweet treats as apple compote in puff pastry, apricot Danish, chocolate raspberry financiers, raisin-blueberry muffins, pink praline and sugar brioche, Ekmek Turkish traditional bread, chocolate tart, coffee eclairs, Rocher caramel brownies and caramel tart.

Satit uses only best quality ingredients, most of them flown in from France as well as Australian beef and lamb for his main dishes. 

“Eric is famous for his baguettes, croissants and of course for the liquid leaven. While our focus is mainly on baking, we also offer more substantial dishes designed to appeal to the Thai palate. They include salads, duck confit and fougasse, which is a little like pizza. We also have pasta because it’s a favourite with Thais,” Hidenori says. 

Softer and thicker than pizza dough, the Fougasse is topped with Mozzarella cheese and sliced tomatoes and served with green salad and costs Bt220. Warm Croque Monsieur sandwiches topped with cheese and filled with ham and cheese also go for Bt220 while the Duck Confit (Bt380) comes in a black pepper sauce with smooth mashed potato and beetroot. 

Among the dessert favourites are sour Lemon Tart (Bt120) and Strawberry Eclair (Bt140). Try one with a pineapple juice or mixed fruit juice made from orange, pineapple and green apple. Each is priced at Bt100.

Or simply savour a hot Americano (Bt80) with a warm croissant (Bt65). 

 

BEAUTIFUL BAKES

Maison Eric Kayser is at 103/1 Soi Thonglor between sub-sois 3 and 5. It’s open daily from 7.30am to 10pm. Call (02) 712 9070 or visit www.Maison-Kayser.com.