Day 8: Le Cordon Who?

Today was the final day of my A-term and I was very sad it had to come to an end. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning the traditions and cultural importance of each of these pastries, and of course also getting to taste them all. 

To close out this course, I ended with a bread that France has nominated for UNESCO heritage status: The baguette. 

The baguette is the embodiment of French bread, a cultural icon. In France more than 25 million baguettes are sold and eaten daily! And they’re not even the biggest consumers. In Algeria close to 50 million baguettes are sold each day, while Morocco, Tunisia, and Vietnam are also baguette superspots. The baguette has literally been immersed into French culture. Inviting someone over for dinner? In France it’s considered rude not to have a fresh baguette to go with the meal. Eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Better run to the nearest bakery to pick up a baguette straight out of the oven. But what makes this bread so popular? And what makes a baguette, well, a baguette? 

The word ‘baguette’ means baton, wand, or stick. The baguette is a long, thin loaf made from a lean dough, but there can be variations to the shape of the bread. A thicker baguette is called a pain and a thinner, longer baguette is called a ficelle. I mentioned in an earlier blog that there are literally laws about what can go into some breads; this is one of them. A baguette must only contain flour, yeast, salt and water. Because the baguette has no fat it must be eaten immediately. Supermarkets and some restaurants sell baguettes with additives to avoid this, and use a different type of yeast, but they don’t taste quite as fresh as the homemade version.

Something that’s confused me is whether or not a baguette and French bread are the same thing. French bread, it turns out, is an American way of referring to any bread of a cylindrical shape. American French bread tends to be longer and wider than a baguette, and also has rounded ends. So in the U.S. a baguette can also be referred to as French bread, but so can ficelles, pains, and other variations. So how exactly did this UNESCO heritage nominee rise to stardom? 

Baguettes are first believed to be made in the 19th century when steam ovens were first used. These ovens allowed for bread to have a crisp crust and a chewy interior. There are three main theories on how the shape came to be. 

1. Napoleon Bonaparte made a decree that bread needed to be baked in this shape so it would fit in his soldiers pockets. 

2. When construction on the Paris Metro began workers from all over France came to help, but they didn’t necessarily get along. Bakers were asked to create bread that could be torn so knives could be outlawed and deaths from violent arguments would be reduced. 

3. In the 1900s a law was passed prohibiting bakers from starting their work before 4am. This made it impossible to have bread ready in time for breakfast, so they started making thinner, longer loaves which baked faster. 

Whichever of these theories really led to the first baguette, we may never know, but in 1920 the word baguette was first documented and used to refer to this type of bread.

Like I mentioned before, baguettes are consumed all over the world, but one of the most well known adaptations into another cuisine is in Vietnam. Vietnamese food has many influences from France due to long periods of French occupation in their country. While the French were there, many flavors and ingredients were brought over, including the baguette. In Vietnamese food the baguette has been changed to use rice flour and has been shortened in length. It is commonly found in a Bánh Mì sandwich, with Bánh Mì being the Vietnamese word for means ‘bread.’ 

In Algeria more French baguettes are eaten than anywhere else in the world. Around 49 million are estimated to be sold each day, which is over one baguette for each person in the population. Baguettes in Algeria are lighter and fluffier than in France. They are also not as uniform because they are not necessarily made with as much care. They are making a huge amount of baguettes each day, and also importing large amounts of wheat so they can be much more diverse in looks. 

So…onto my baguette making process!

To start, I combined the ingredients: flour, salt, water and yeast (that’s it!), then let that rest for a few minutes. Next I kneaded the dough to make it more elastic and uniform. Then, after a long retarding process (proofing in the fridge) I was ready to shape. 

First the dough needed to be shaped into rectangles, then rolled into a cylinder. Next it was rolled out to the proper length (around 14-15 inches). This was a little similar to what I did with the braided brioche loaf, but it was much easier with the baguette dough. Then the baguettes had to prove again, this time in a couche. A couche is used to support the baguette and also takes some of the moisture from the outside of the dough. This allows for it to be crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside. While this proofing was happening, I did the very important task of preheating the oven. 

Because of the steaming technique that is used to achieve the contrast between crisp and soft, you can’t just heat up the oven, but must replicate a steamy atmosphere. I did this by putting a bread pan full of water with a towel at the bottom of the oven below a baking stone that was heated at the top. 

Once the oven was hot, the last step before putting them in was to score the dough. This is a technique used to slow the expansion of the baguettes in the oven, and gives them the characteristic three swipes. Then into the oven they went! 

Thirty minutes later, my baguettes were browned to perfection! The outside was crispy, but when I cut into it, the inside was cream colored and full of bubbles, just like it was supposed to be! It is amazing what a tasty result can be produced from such a simple combination of ingredients. No fat and no sweeteners, yet the flavor is not bland and can be paired with so many foods--my personal favorite is a slice of brie cheese.  

I was very pleased with the result of my baguettes, and they are something I will definitely be making again. Although there is lots of waiting time in between steps, the process is simple and efficient, so it doesn’t take long for your kitchen to become a French boulangerie!

Through this course I feel like I have gained so much knowledge. I was able to follow foods throughout history and look at the evolution and cultural significance behind each of them. I was also able to expand my culinary repoitare by adding new techniques, and improving on others. It really amazes me how much significance a piece of bread or a type of pastry can have, but now I know I'll always be curious and ready to learn more about the past and the present of global cuisines.