{{Short description|Long French bread}} {{Other uses}} {{Distinguish|text=breadsticks}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox food | name = Baguette | image = Baguettes, Paris, France - panoramio.jpg | caption = A basket of baguettes | alternate_name = French stick | country = France<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/the-all-important-history-of-the-baguette/|title = The All-Important History of the Baguette|date = 11 February 2019}}</ref> | type = Bread | creator = | course = | served = | main_ingredient = Flour, yeast, salt | variations = Bánh mì | calories = 263 | other = Glycaemic load 47 (100g) }}
A '''baguette''' ({{IPAc-en|b|æ|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|t}}; {{IPA|fr|baɡɛt|lang|Fr-baguette.wav}}) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin<ref>''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'', 11th Edition</ref> that is commonly made from basic lean dough. Both the dough and the physical dimensions of the tradition baguette are defined by French law.<ref>{{Citation|title=Décret n°93-1074 du 13 septembre 1993 pris pour l'application de la loi du 1er août 1905 en ce qui concerne certaines catégories de pains|date=13 September 1993|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000727617|access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref> It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust.
A baguette has a diameter of about {{convert|5|to(-)|6|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} and a usual length of about {{convert|65|cm|in|abbr=on}}, but can be up to {{convert|1|m|in|abbr=on}} long. thumb|Classic baguette In November 2018, documentation surrounding the "craftsmanship and culture" of making this bread was added to the French Ministry of Culture's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 February 2019|title=Les savoir-faire artisanaux et la culture de la baguette de pain|trans-title=Craftsmanship and the culture of the baguette|url=https://www.culture.gouv.fr/en/Media/Thematiques/Patrimoine-culturel-immateriel/Files/Fiches-inventaire-du-PCI/Les-savoir-faire-artisanaux-et-la-culture-de-la-baguette-de-pain|access-date=7 September 2021|publisher=French Ministry of Culture|language=fr}}</ref> In 2022, the artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread was inscribed to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Artisanal knowhow and culture of baguette bread|language=en-GB|work=UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/artisanal-know-how-and-culture-of-baguette-bread-01883|access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>
==History== Much of the history of the baguette is speculation;<ref name="chev">{{cite book|url=http://www.chezjim.com/books/baguette/ |title=About the Baguette: Exploring the Origin of a French National Icon|first=Jim |last=Chevallier|date=2014|publisher=Createspace Independent Pub|isbn=978-1-4973-4408-2 }}</ref>{{rp|35}} however, some facts can be established. Long, stick-like breads in France became more popular during the 18th century,{{r|chev|p=5}} French bakers started using "''gruau''," a highly refined Hungarian high-milled flour in the early 19th century,{{r|chev|p=13}} Viennese steam oven baking was introduced to Paris in 1839 by August Zang,{{r|chev|p=12}} and the Austrian {{ill|Adolf Ignaz Mautner von Markhof|de|Adolf Ignaz Mautner von Markhof}}'s compact yeast in 1867 at the Universal Exposition.{{r|chev|p=14}} Finally, the word "baguette" appears to define a particular type of bread in a regulation of the department of the Seine in August 1920: "The baguette, having a minimum weight of {{convert|80|g|oz|frac=4|abbr=on|disp=sqbr}} and a maximum length of {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=on|disp=sqbr}}, may not be sold for a price higher than 0.35 francs apiece".<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58250320|title=Recueil des actes administratifs de la Préfecture du département de la Seine|last=texte|first=Seine Auteur du|date=August 1920|publisher=Préfecture du département de la Seine|location=Paris|access-date=28 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329060158/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58250320|archive-date=29 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> No one of these events constitutes "the invention of the baguette," but together they define the modern "baguette."
In summary, "the bread which became known as the baguette first appeared in its most primitive form in the eighteenth century, then experienced several refinements and variations before being (officially) given that name in 1920."{{r|chev|p=57}}
The word ''baguette'' means "wand," "baton," or "stick," as in ''baguette magique'' (magic wand), ''baguettes chinoises'' (chopsticks), or ''baguette de direction'' (conductor's baton). It was first recorded as a kind of bread in 1920.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Le Pain Frais |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2925647.item |language=fr |work=La Figaro |location=Paris |date=4 August 1920 |access-date=20 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121130854/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2925647.item |archive-date=21 January 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Outside France, the baguette is often considered a symbol of French culture, but the association of France with long loaves long predates it. Long, wide loaves had been made since the time of King Louis XIV, long thin ones since the mid-18th century, and by the 19th century, some were far longer than today's baguette: "... loaves of bread {{convert|6|ft|m|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} long that look like crowbars!"<ref>{{cite news |title=From London to Paris |work=Supplement to the Courant | date=23 March 1867 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA45 |page=45}}</ref> "Housemaids were hurrying homewards with their purchases for various Gallic breakfasts, and the long sticks of bread, a yard or two [{{convert|1|yard|m|disp=out|sigfig=1}} to {{convert|2|yard|m|disp=out|sigfig=2}}] in length, carried under their arms, made an odd impression upon me."<ref>{{cite book |first=Louis Charles |last=Elson |title=European Reminiscences, Musical and Otherwise: Being the Recollections of the Vacation Tours of a Musician in Various Countries |publisher=Theo Presser |location=Philadelphia |date=1898 |page=[https://archive.org/details/europeanreminisc00elsouoft/page/186 186] |url=https://archive.org/details/europeanreminisc00elsouoft}}</ref>
A less direct link can be made with deck or steam ovens. These combine a traditional gas-fired oven and a brick oven, a thick "deck" of stone or firebrick heated by natural gas instead of wood. The first steam oven was brought to Paris in the early 19th century by August Zang, who also introduced Vienna bread (''pain viennois'') and the croissant, and whom some French sources thus credit with originating the baguette.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/tendances-gastronomie/2009-03-12/produit-la-baguette-parisienne/1559/0/325080 |title=La baguette parisienne |publisher=Lepoint.fr |date=12 March 2009 |access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref>
Deck ovens heated to over {{convert|200|C|F|-1}} use steam injection to allow the crust to expand before setting, thus creating a lighter, airier loaf, and to melt the dextrose on the bread's surface, giving a slightly glazed effect.
In April 1944, a competition called {{lang|fr|Le Grand Prix de la Baguette}} began in France to determine who made the best baguettes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paris.fr/pages/goutez-et-choisissez-la-meilleure-baguette-de-paris-6640|title=Goûtez et choisissez la meilleure baguette de Paris !|access-date=26 November 2020|archive-date=30 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330081521/https://www.paris.fr/pages/goutez-et-choisissez-la-meilleure-baguette-de-paris-6640|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nearly 200 bakers compete each year in front of a 14-judge panel following strict guidelines. They are judged based on baking, appearance, smell, taste, and crumb. The winner receives €4000 and supplies France's president with their daily bread for that year until a new winner is chosen.<ref name="bbc"/>
Following the World Wars, French bakers began baking a whiter, softer baguette that contrasted with the darker loaves produced because of rationing during the wars. These doughs took less time to ferment and used more additives but had significantly less taste. They also began using pre-made dough and molds. The average consumption of bread fell from 600 grams/day in the early 1900s to 170 grams/day in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news|title=It's crunch-time for the baguette|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/1843/2019/01/22/its-crunch-time-for-the-baguette|access-date=30 July 2020|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>
In 1993, the French Parliament passed ''Le Décret Pain'' (The Bread Decree).<ref name="bbc">{{Cite web|last=Monaco|first=Emily|title=The perfect French baguette|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190825-the-perfect-french-baguette|access-date=25 July 2020|website=www.bbc.com|date=26 August 2019 |language=en}}</ref> ''Le Décret Pain'' states that breads under the name of ''pain maison'' (homemade bread) must be "fully kneaded, shaped, and baked at their place of sale." This decree also placed strict guidelines on what ''pain traditionnel français'' (traditional French bread) is allowed to be made of, banning pre-made dough from being used for traditional French baguettes.<ref>{{Citation|title=Décret n°93-1074 du 13 septembre 1993 pris pour l'application de la loi du 1er août 1905 en ce qui concerne certaines catégories de pains|date=13 September 1993|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000727617|access-date=25 July 2020}}</ref>
Since 1994, the city of Paris awards the Grand prix de la baguette de tradition française de la ville de Paris for the best baguette in the city.<ref>{{cite web | title=The perfect French baguette | date=26 August 2019 | url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190825-the-perfect-french-baguette }}</ref>
=== Origin myths === Because the history of the French baguette is not completely known, several myths have spread about the origins of this type of bread.
Some say Napoleon, in essence, created the French baguette to allow soldiers to more easily carry bread with them. Since the round shape of other breads took up a lot of space, Bonaparte requested they be made into the skinny stick shape with specific measurements to slide into the soldiers' uniform.<ref name="bonjourparis">{{Cite web|date=26 January 2015|title=History of the Baguette: Legends, Laws, and Lengthy Loaves|url=https://bonjourparis.com/food-and-drink/history-baguette-legends-laws-and-lengthy-loaves/|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Bonjour Paris}}</ref><ref name="booking">{{Cite web|title=Breaking bread: the story of the baguette|url=https://www.booking.com/articles/breaking-bread-the-story-of-the-baguette.en-gb.html|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Booking.com|language=zh-tw}}</ref><ref name="All about">{{Cite web|last=Fuller-love|first=Heidi|title=All about the French baguette: a cultural icon|url=https://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/food-and-drink/french-baguette-history-of-an-icon-1-6317989|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Complete France|date=22 October 2019|language=en}}</ref>
Other stories credit baguettes as being an invention to stop French metro workers from having to carry knives that they used to cut their bread. The workers often fought, so the management did not want them to carry knives and requested that bread be easily ripped apart, ending the need for knives. The skinny, easily rippable shape of a baguette would have been the response to this.<ref name="bonjourparis"/><ref name="booking"/><ref name="All about"/>
Some believe baguettes were the "Bread of Equality" following a decree post-French Revolution requiring a type of bread to be made accessible to the rich and poor.<ref name="bonjourparis"/><ref name="booking"/><ref name="All about"/>
Another account states that in October 1920, a law prevented bakers from working before 4 am, making it impossible to make traditional round loaves in time for customers' breakfasts. Switching from the round loaf to the previously less-common, slender shape of the baguette solved the problem because it could be prepared and baked much more quickly.<ref>{{cite web|last=Olver|first=Lynne|author-link=Lynne Olver|title=Food Timeline FAQs: bread|url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodbreads.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925071709/http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodbreads.html|archive-date=25 September 2011|access-date=17 September 2011|work=The Food Timeline}}</ref> The law in question appears to be one from March 1919, though some say it took effect in October 1920:<blockquote>It is forbidden to employ workers at bread and pastry making between ten in the evening and four in the morning.<ref>''Bulletin des Lois de la République Française – Nouvelle Série – Année 1919'' T.XI:241–264 B. No. 246 (p. 769) – No. 13950</ref></blockquote>
==Manufacture and styles== thumb|Baguette cross section The "baguette de tradition française" is made from wheat flour, water, yeast (as the leavening agent), and common salt. It may contain up to 2% broad bean flour, up to 0.5% soya flour, and up to 0.3% wheat malt flour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=ECOC9300130D |title=Détail d'un texte |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref>
Standard baguettes, ''baguettes ordinaires'', are made with baker's yeast, and artisan-style loaves are usually made with a pre-ferment (''poolish'') to increase flavor complexity and other characteristics. They may include whole-wheat flour or other grains such as rye. Baguettes are also sometimes referred to as either "Classique" (typically mass produced and made with yeast as well as additives), and "tradition" regulated to 4 ingredients (flour, water, leavening, and salt) often using a sourdough starter as the leavening agent <ref>{{cite web|url=https://wearegoodinbread.com/all-about-the-french-baguette/ |title=All About The French Baguette |website=wearegoodinbread.com |date=February 2023 |access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>
Baguettes are closely connected to France, though they are made worldwide. In France, not all long loaves are baguettes; for example, a short, almost rugby ball-shaped loaf is a ''bâtard'' (literally, bastard); its origin is variously explained but undocumented. Another tubular-shaped loaf is known as a ''flûte'', also known in the United States as a ''parisienne''. Flûtes closely resemble baguettes but are about twice the size.<ref>{{Cite web|title=French Bread Facts|url=https://www.frenchdesire.com.au/facts/bread/|access-date=24 July 2020|website=French Desire|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306194012/https://www.frenchdesire.com.au/facts/bread/|url-status=dead}}</ref> thumb|Tradition baguettes A thinner loaf is called a ''ficelle'' (string). A short baguette is sometimes known as a ''baton'' (stick), or in the UK, referred to using the English translation ''French stick''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/french-stick|title=French stick {{!}} meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en|access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> None of these is officially defined, either legally or, for instance, in major dictionaries, any more than the baguette. French breads are also made in forms such as a ''miche'', which is a large pan loaf, and a ''boule'', literally ball in French, a large round loaf. Sandwich-sized loaves are sometimes known as ''demi-baguettes'' or ''tiers''. Italian baguettes, or ''baguette italienne'', involve more spices and a denser texture, giving the baguette a slightly different, more Italian taste.<ref name="frenchtogether">{{Cite web|last=Salzberg|first=Alysa|date=8 October 2019|title=The Crusty Guide to French Baguettes (And How to Order One)|url=https://frenchtogether.com/baguette/|access-date=24 July 2020|website=French Together|language=en-US}}</ref> ''Pain viennois'' is much sweeter and softer than the standard baguette.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vienna Bread / Pain Viennois|url=http://www.brunoskitchen.net/blog/post/vienna-bread---pain-viennois|access-date=24 July 2020|website=www.brunoskitchen.net|language=en|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724045904/http://www.brunoskitchen.net/blog/post/vienna-bread---pain-viennois|url-status=dead}}</ref>
thumb|A baker prepares baguettes for baking In France, a baguette typically weighs around {{convert|8+3/4|oz|g|-1|abbr=on|order=flip}}, a bâtard {{convert|500|g|oz|abbr=on|frac=2}} and a ficelle {{convert|100|g|oz|frac=2|abbr=on}}; no legal text establishes any of these weights, which can vary throughout the country. Baguettes, either relatively short single-serving size or cut from a longer loaf, are very often used for sandwiches, usually of the submarine sandwich type, but also a panini. They are often sliced and served with pâté or cheese. As part of the traditional continental breakfast in France, slices of baguette, known as ''tartines'', are spread with butter and jam and sometimes dunked in bowls of coffee or hot chocolate.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Baguettes are generally made as partially free-form loaves, with the loaf formed with a series of folding and rolling motions, raised in cloth-lined baskets or in rows on a flour-impregnated towel, called a couche, and baked either directly on the hearth of a deck oven or in special perforated pans designed to hold the shape of the baguette while allowing heat through the perforations. American-style "French bread" is generally much fatter and is not baked in deck ovens but in convection ovens.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
As of the 2000s, there is increasing customer demand in France for only partially baked baguettes. In 2004, the bakery chain Marie Blachère introduced the option to select three varieties of baguettes distinguished by baking time: ''bien cuite'' (well done), ''dorée'' (golden) and ''blanche'' (white).<ref>{{Cite web |title=700 boulangeries en France: comment Marie Blachère est devenu le "McDo" du pain |url=https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/700-boulangeries-en-france-comment-marie-blachere-est-devenu-le-mc-do-du-pain_AN-202207230090.html |access-date=23 July 2022 |website=BFM BUSINESS |date=23 July 2022 |language=fr}}</ref>
Outside France, baguettes are also made with other doughs. For example, the Vietnamese ''bánh mì'' uses a high proportion of rice flour, while many North American bakeries make whole wheat, multigrain, and sourdough baguettes alongside French-style loaves. In Cambodia, it is found in the form of a hot sandwich filled called num pang. In addition, even classic French-style recipes vary from place to place, with some recipes adding small amounts of milk, butter, sugar, or malt extract, depending on the desired flavor and properties in the final loaf.
==Consumption== {{Expand section|date=February 2025}} Algeria consumes about 49 million baguettes per day,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Algerias love affair with baguettes {{!}} World-grain.com {{!}} January 25, 2016 14:02 {{!}} World Grain |url=https://www.world-grain.com/articles/5911-algeria-s-love-affair-with-baguettes |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=world-grain.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.algerie360.com/classes-au-premier-rang-mondial-les-algeriens-consomment-49-millions-de-baguettes-de-pain-chaque-jour/|title=Classés au premier rang mondial : les algériens consomment 49 millions de baguettes de pain chaque jour|website=algerie360|date= 2010|language=fr}}</ref> and France consumes about 30 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10143339/French-turning-away-from-the-baguette.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10143339/French-turning-away-from-the-baguette.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=French turning away from the baguette|website=the telegraph|date= 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Food}} {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} <!--Please keep links in alphabetical order, and do not use any links already present in the body of the article--> * Breakfast roll * Chicken fillet roll * Ciabatta * Cuban bread * Faluche * French roll * Hoagie roll * Mitraillette * Pandesal * Zapiekanka
{{Div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Child, Julia. ''From Julia Child's Kitchen''. New York: Knopf, 1970. * Child, Julia and Simone Beck. ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 2''. New York: Knopf, 1970. * Rambali, Paul. ''Boulangerie''. New York: Macmillan, 1994, {{ISBN|0-02-600865-3}}. * Reinhard, Peter. ''Crust and Crumb''. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1998, {{ISBN|1-58008-802-3}}.
==External links== {{Wiktionary}} * {{Commons category-inline|Baguettes}} * [http://www.chezjim.com/books/baguette About the Baguette] – an investigation into the origin of the baguette
{{French bread}} {{French cuisine}} {{Authority control}}
Category:French breads Category:French cuisine