China News Service, Yinchuan, March 19th: "The Star Chasing Story" of Mainland Youth
Chinanews reporter Yang Di
In the first World Cup Bread Masters held in Paris, France in 2010, Wu Baochun, a well-known Taiwanese baker, won the European-style bread category with a bread called "Lychee Rose".
Now, thanks to the teaching of baking instructor Wu Baochun, Song Yu, a young man in Yinchuan, Ningxia, has also brought this bread to the northwest region of China.
In 2015, Song Yu began to contact baking.
By chance, he ate the "Lychee Rose" bread that a friend brought back from Taiwan.
"The feeling at the time was amazing, and it subverted my traditional concept and cognition of bread." Song Yu said, "Lychee Rose" bread is oil-free and sugar-free, with the aroma of lychees and roses, and at the same time it exudes a strong aroma of wheat.
After learning that the recipe creator of this bread was Wu Baochun, a well-known baker in Taiwan, Song Yu's "Star Chasing" officially began.
In Song Yu's bakery, the baking books written and edited by Wu Baochun are neatly placed on the bookshelf. These books have also helped Song Yu a lot over the years.
"Mr. Wu Baochun was the first Chinese to win the World Bread Contest. Although we hadn't met at the time, he has become my spiritual mentor on the way of baking," Song Yu said.
Song Yu is making bread.
Photo by Yang Di
In 2019, Wu Baochun's bakery opened in Shanghai, and he himself will participate in the event with Taiwanese baker Chen Fuzhen.
After learning the news, Song Yu hurriedly bought a plane ticket and flew to Shanghai, and finally met Wu Baochun as he wished.
"After meeting, Mr. Baochun was very approachable and gave me a lot of guidance in baking, and he became a good friend with me." Since then, the relationship between Song Yu and Wu Baochun has moved from books to reality. With another attempt and improvement, Song Yu gradually mastered the practice of "lychee rose" bread.
Now, he can restore more than 90% of the taste and taste of this bread.
Affected by the epidemic, Song Yu and Wu Baochun communicated mostly online.
The two exchanged some baking experience and practices on WeChat from time to time. Song Yu sometimes encountered difficulties in making bread, and he would also ask Wu Baochun for advice.
"Once, Mr. Baochun learned a national bread 'Penedoni' from Italy, and he taught me how to make this bread through video and text," Song Yu said.
Although the time they met was short, the distance between the two was not pulled away due to their love for baking.
"Since I met Teacher Baochun, I feel that the distance between Ningxia and Taiwan is not far. Our lives are actually quite similar: Teacher Baochun likes to drink Ningxia red wine, and I also like to eat some special snacks from Taiwan." Song Yu said that a small piece of bread can easily shorten the distance between the mainland and Taiwan compatriots.
Today, Song Yu has opened his own bakery in Yinchuan, Ningxia. On weekdays, he also shares the production methods of various types of bread for free on the Internet.
"On the way of baking, I have received a lot of free help from teachers such as Wu Baochun, so I also want to give back to the baking circle in this way." Song Yu said that in the future, he wants to bring more bread made by Taiwanese bakers to the mainland and bring them to the mainland. To the northwest region, let the local people taste different flavors of bread.
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