It is not clear when it was born
There are no less than four explanations that are frequently given to explain the birth of the baguette. Some say that it was born during the French Revolution when the deputies decided on a single weight for bread. Others speak rather of Napoleon. The Emperor would have decided to impose a long shape so that the bread would be easier to carry by the soldiers of the Great Army. We are also told that the baguette was the idea of a Viennese, Mr. ZANG, who settled in Paris, and who would have continued to give the Viennese bread shape to his bread. Finally others say that we owe the baguette... To the Parisian subway. Fulgence BIENVENUE, creator of the Parisian subway, would have asked the bakers to make a bread easy to cut without a knife because the numerous workers who worked on the construction site of the subway had knives on them to cut their loaves of bread and that these knives came out too easily during the numerous fights on the construction site. The workers, who liked the crust rather than the crumb, would have appreciated these baguettes which gave them more crust surface.
Popular since the 50's...
Image par Philippe Ramakers/Shutterstock
In any case, with the end of the restrictions of the Occupation, the baguette became so widely democratized, first in the city, that it became the emblem of the French with the beret and the glass of red wine. There are actually three kinds of baguette: the baguette (which some people call the Parisian) is 250 grams, the ficelle, which is 125 grams, and below that, there is the déjeunette. The French are not the only ones to appreciate this bread with such simple ingredients: wheat flour, yeast and water, in former colonies, we also taste baguettes. The Algerians are even the first consumers in number of baguettes per capita. It is also very appreciated in Vietnam.
Since November 30, 2022, the baguette is classified World Heritage of Humanity
