France’s daily bread, baguette gets UNESCO heritage status
With the popular bread under threat due to a decline in local bakeries, the recognition comes at the right time.
Baguettes are as French as the Eiffel Tower, or even more so—the long batons of bread with their crispy outer crust, chewy texture and airy-soft crumb are a ubiquitous part of the country’s identity. When one thinks of France, or Paris, immediately an image of crossing the street with a freshly-baked baguette in hand comes to mind.
But despite its popularity—more than six billion baguettes are sold every year—the bread made in local bakeries is seeing a steady decline, with supermarkets replacing it with cheaper, lower-quality versions.
Now that is set to change, with the baguette, and the traditional knowledge needed to make it, getting the UNESCO nod. The UN organisation has added the beloved loaf to its “intangible cultural heritage” list, in hopes of reviving the age-old process of baking the bread and giving a boost to small, artisanal boulangeries. China’s tea processing technique and Cambodia’s traditional martial art—Kun Lbokator—are two of the other practices from the total 19 that have been added to the list this year.
Baguettes form one of the defining threads of France’s culinary fabric. They’re eaten a certain way—by breaking off the pointed heel and having it while the bread is still warm from the bakery. The French take baguettes so seriously, that it is even protected by law—the Bread Decree of 1993 requires that the baguettes are made on the same premises where they’re sold, should never be frozen, and must contain only flour, water, yeast, and salt.
The origins of baguette are ambiguous at best, with multiple contesting stories. While one would think that something so decidedly French would originate in the country, it actually traces its history to Austria. Allegedly, a Viennese-born baker August Zang came up with France’s first steam oven, making possible a bread like baguette that relies on steam for that chewy exterior and soft interior. It was also the perfect baked good that met the limitations of a French law that prevented baking before 4:00 a.m. With a baguette coming together in less than three hours, it could be baked fresh in time before the bakery opened for the day.
Lead image: Getty Images
