In terms of food, is there anything more French than the baguette?
Did you know the word baguette literally means “stick”? And that a baguette magique is not a magic bread but a magic wand?
La baguette is omnipresent in France. Every bakery (and every supermarket nowadays) sells it, and even if you don’t buy one yourself, you won’t spend a day in France without seeing someone carry a baguette.
Bread in this long thin shape was first mentioned in the 17th century. Back then, it was considered a luxury because it didn’t keep as long a the traditional round bread loaves. However, in 1957, it replaced the round bread loaf in the standard shopping basket of the French Statistics Office.
The classic baguette is made with only a few ingredients – water, flour, salt, yeast, and that’s it. It is 60cm long and weighs 250g.
If you go into a French bakery, it’s easy to get lost among all the long thin breads there. If you want to make sure you get the classic baguette, ask for a “Tradition”. In order to protect the bakers’ craft, a law of September 13, 1993, forbids any additive or fast freezing of these baguettes.
France being France, the Tradition is a candidate for the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
Now you have bought your Tradition, what are you going to do with it?
Here’s what the French like to do:
- eat part of it while it’s still fresh
- cut it into fine stripes, butter them, and dip them into a soft-boiled egg
- spread some butter on it and dip it into your café au lait
- make yourself a jambon-beurre sandwich, with butter and jambon de Paris (ham)
My thanks to Jamy Gourmaud and his Youtube video on the baguette.