To dunk or not to dunk ? That is the question. In French we say “faire trempette” to take a little dip. The French are elegant especially the ladies but I’m not sure there’s an elegant way to dunk your croissant unless you’re dunking a petit biscuit. Yet. there’s nothing more delicious for breakfast than a buttery croissant dunked in a big bowl of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The art of “ faire trempette” dans son café or “dunking” is too dunk lightly and not to make your baguette or croissant too soggy but just enough. Even Marcel Proust in A la recherche du temps perdu, used a spoon to delicately dunk his Madeleines but it’s not quite the same.
“… je portai à mes lèvres une cuillerée du thé où j’avais laissé s’amollir un morceau de madeleine…”
To indulge in this French habit, for starters you’ll need a big French bowl for your Café au lait to dunk your favorite tartines, baguette, croissant, brioches, biscottes , Madeleine , or viennoiseries etc… There is no limit to what can be dunked. I love the traditional French bowls reminiscent of childhood, you know the personalized bowls made in Bretagne or “bol breton” with your name on it, and I also like this one. Of course, you can also use your oversized American coffee mug but you won’t look too French.
- Pillivuyt Cafe Au Lait Coffee Bowl, 1.15lb
- White Porcelain Traditional European Coffee Bowl, 13-ounce – Dishwasher Safe
- Guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship
I have a confession to make… not only do I love to dunk my croissants or tartines beurrées in my coffee, I also like to slurp my café au lait but that’s another topic! 😉
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