Grains de Sucres - A Family Affair

AT GRAINS DE SUCRES, BAKING AND PASTRY ARE ON AN EQUAL FOOTING. IN THE BAKERY, WE’VE GOT ÉDOUARD DORANGE, IN SALES, HIS SISTER PAULINE, AND IN THE PASTRY KITCHEN, NOLWENN PELLET, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW.

Text by Mégane Fleury – photos by Itiz Prod

Grains and sugar, like bakery and pastry. That's the idea behind the name Grains de sucres, a Lyon-based bakery opening in November 2020. It is headed up by a trio: Edouard Dorange, Pauline Dorange and Nolwenn Pellet. The first two being brother and sister, the last two a couple. “My sister and her partner had wanted to open their own store for a long time," says baker Edouard Dorange. As for me, taking part in the Coupe de France de boulangerie in 2019 gave me the impetus and, above all, the confidence to get started." That year, he was part of the Rhône-Alpes team, along with Nicolas Servaire and Didier Fugier. Together, they finished in 7th place.

Grains de sucres is a family venture. “Our father was a pastry chef," says Édouard Dorange. When I was a kid, he used to take me with him to see his friends who were bakers and pastry chefs. Over time, I became passionate about this world, and I didn't hesitate when it came to choosing a profession." Holder of a C.A.P. boulanger and a professional certificate, he worked for a year with Jean-François Fayolle, M.O.F. Boulanger 2000, and in various bakeries in his native Clermont Ferrand.

Today, he manages the bakery side of Grains de Sucres, along with Pauline Dorange, trained in pastry-making, in charge of the store and Nolwenn Pellet in charge of pastry-making. “This distribution allows us to dedicate the energy required to all areas. It's a good thing there are three of us," he says. “Our strength is our wide range of breads and pastries," says the 30-year-old.

As for the bakery, he wants to make healthy products using quality ingredients. This involves working with sourdough, organic or Label Rouge® flours, long fermentations, and punching down in the tray in order to "develop aromas and produce more honeycombed crumbs.” This process enables him to offer distinctive breads, with a "real sourdough taste that you can't find everywhere".

In total, around ten loaves are produced every day, some of which are sold by the kilo. "I wanted there to be something for everyone: baguettes with thin crusts and honeycombed crumbs, but also typical breads with thick crusts," he explains. Nutritional bread, whose recipe was created for the Coupe de France de boulangerie, is a Grains de sucres trademark, but
customers can also find cereal pavé, rye tourte auvergnate and even corn bread. On the other hand, fans of undercooked white bread may be disappointed. Here, all the breads are well baked and the baguettes golden brown. "Manufacturers have steered people towards white-baked breads, yet the crust gives flavor and aids digestion, so we try to explain this to customers."

The baker also seeks to amaze his customers with his work on pastry. "I think it's interesting to get closer to pastry- making, offering modern pastries, often garnished, that catch the eye the window.”

In concrete terms, there are original recipes such as the blueberry brioche, with pastry cream, a blueberry filling, blueberry streusel or the Bicolore, which contains a berry filling. The snack foods range is also designed to stand out, with top-of-the-range sandwiches such as squid ink Vienna bread with salmon and avocado, or even curried or vegetable Vienna bread.

"There's aren’t any ham sandwiches round here." sums up the Lyon baker. Eventually, the trio would like to develop the different ranges, but for the time being, they are looking for space. They have recently expanded the pastry kitchen, and are now considering how to increase their storage area. Over the past two years, they have gradually taken on new staff: Édouard Dorange started the bakery alone, and today there are four people working there. Grains de Sucres employs a total of 15 people, including several apprentices. Today, the craftsman takes pleasure in passing on his passion to the young people who pass through his bakery. “I like working with my hands, with real know-how," he confides. “It's a pleasure to share this with spirited apprentices who are eager to learn." Although he admits to having difficulty finding motivated young people,
"who really want to become bakers.”

"It feels to me like the trade is being lost over time, that fewer and fewer young people want to do it, because it's difficult, especially in terms of the working hours." Edouard Dorange has never stopped loving his profession. "I'm proud of what I do, and the bakery still amazes me, it's exceptional to start with wheat and manage to make bread from it. What’s more, in this profession, you never stop learning!"

The key to success according to Edouard Dorange: "For me, there are three essential elements: knowing how to manage your staff, having enough experience before setting up and being consistent in the quality of your products. Of course, it also takes a lot of hard work.”