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Fouée: The Ancient Wood-Fired Flatbread of Touraine & Anjou with Vince Cuce
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Fouée — the ancient wood-fired flatbread of the Touraine and Anjou regions of France — takes centre stage in this episode of Fabulously Delicious, as Andrew is joined by Vince Cuce, an Italian-born, Australian-raised bread maker who has become one of the most passionate makers of Fouée in France. Cooked in a blazing wood-fired oven in just ninety seconds, the Fouée puffs up like a balloon and has been a beloved tradition of the region for centuries — yet barely anyone outside the area has ever heard of it.
Vince explains the fascinating origin story of the Fouée — believed to have been born in the seventeenth century when bakers would throw a scrap of dough into the oven to test the heat before baking their bread. He breaks down what makes the perfect Fouée, from the importance of using a semi-complete T80 flour over the more processed T45, to how oven temperature and technique determine whether it puffs up correctly. Vince works at Le Moulin de Sarry near Saumur and serves Fouée with traditional regional fillings including rillettes, mojette white beans, beurre d'escargot, salted caramel, and Nutella — and has made well over half a million of them in his career.
Vince's life story is as colourful as the food he makes — born in Italy to a circus knife-throwing father, growing up in Sydney, running a pizza food truck on the streets of Nantes, and eventually settling in the Touraine and Anjou region after following love to France. He is also a moderator of the Aussies in France Facebook group and shares his thoughts on why so many Australians find their way to France — and why they so rarely leave.
If you're planning a trip to Touraine and Anjou, the area around Saumur is the place to seek out a Fouée fresh from the wood-fired oven. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in French food — centuries of history in a pocket of flatbread, best eaten standing up and filled with whatever takes your fancy.
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