“The main ingredient of our fouace is…” The Camarès biscuit factory shares its manufacturing tips

Sophie Bénézech and Gérémie Majorel, brother and sister, are proud to inherit 46 years of expertise in the family biscuit factory.

In the village of Camarès, as visitors walk the streets, a smell of sugar tickles their nostrils. The gourmands then go back up the trail and arrive in front of a door where the word “biscuiterie” is obvious at first glance. They open it and ask: “it's here that it smells good ?”

Sophie Bénézech and Gérémie Majorel welcome them with a big smile. The siblings look back on the history of this place during a biscuit tasting. Their father, Guy Majorel, ran a bakery in the village with his wife Josy. In 1978, he decided to open the biscuit factory. “It's been my environment since I was little, says Sophie Bénézech. I always saw my parents doing that. After school, my brother and I would go and give them a kiss at the biscuit factory. It was like home.” Sophie Bénézech and Gérémie Majorel have been partners for about fifteen years. "My brother and I have compatible personalities. We work with the same desires, the same values."

It takes about 24 hours with drying to make a fouace. Midi Libre – Noélie Lemaire

The partners explain that they do not have a secret recipe but rather an ancient know-how that is passed down from generation to generation. “Over time, many techniques have been forgotten.” Their parents trained them, they themselves had been trained by an uncle.

An old-fashioned production diagram

In addition to biscuits, called biscotins, artisans offer fouaces.”The recipe for this brioche contains only a few ingredients: semolina flour, brewer's yeast, orange blossom, butter, eggs, salt, sugar. No preservatives or additives. "The main ingredient of our fouace is time." Thanks to the ferments contained in the yeast, the dough will rise. The microorganisms will release gas, thus making the crumb airy and light. A step that requires several hours.

“One of our main qualities is that we adapt. For fouace, it's the dough that decides everything.” Midi Libre – Noélie Lemaire

"Today, everything has to go fast so many people use supercharged yeast to limit time", explains Gérémie Majorel. The Camarès biscuit factory has decided to follow an old-fashioned production plan. “There is an emotional dimension to our work. We make fouace with our family recipe.”

Around 250,000 biscotins in summer

The biscuit factory adapts the week's preparations according to stocks. “We make fouaces every week. In general, it's about a hundred per batch. Some weeks, we can make around 350."

The biscuit factory has been open since 1978. Midi Libre – Noélie Lemaire

The Camarès biscuit factory also offers biscotins in eight flavors with or without chocolate around. When they make the biscuits, they are helped by a machine called a moulder which will shape and weigh them to make them easier to package. “With my son, details Gérémie Majorel, we calculated that between June and September we make around 250,000 biscuits.” Enough to delight gourmets. Visitors can taste while watching the preparations.

Biscuiterie du Camarès, 1 rue de l'Église. Open in August from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit their website: www.biscotin.fr; contact at 05 65 99 51 49 I subscribe to read more