My family's been making easy, 4-ingredient baguettes for years, and I think everyone should know the recipe (2024)

FAQs

In what year did a decree require that a baguette be made of only four ingredients? ›

🥖 In 1993, the French government passed a law called "Le Décret Pain" (the Bread Decree) which states that traditional baguettes must be fully made at their place of sale with only four ingredients: wheat flour (🇫🇷la farine de blé), water (🇫🇷 l'eau), yeast (🇫🇷la levure), and salt (🇫🇷le sel).

You can eat a baguette every day and be healthy, but the key is portion size and what you're eating with your baguette. It's important to note that baguettes are particularly high in carbohydrates and sodium, so you should choose your portion size based on your diet and overall health goals.

French Baguettes are so good

First and foremost, the flour used in France is of very high quality. But the major difference between French and an American baguette is the fermentation process. Most French bakers use a poolish process, which consists of a mix of yeast and water that's allowed to ferment overnight.

The shelf life of homemade bread can vary depending on the type of bread, the recipe used, and the storage conditions. Generally, homemade bread can last for 2-3 days at room temperature, but may last longer if stored properly.

The French bread law

The law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.

The baguette: A construction story

Bakers invented a lighter bread, which could be torn instead of cut. In 1920, a new law came into being that said workers shouldn't have to get up before 4 am to go to work, which meant that bakers had to bake bread in a much shorter time frame.

The baguette is a core part of French eating habits. It can be used in a million and one ways, and brings unforgettable moments of culinary pleasure and shared experiences.

Stale Bread and Stale Cereal Is Safe to Eat.

If there's no mold, it's fine to eat. You might consider making bread crumbs with stale bread, reviving it by running it under water and refreshing it in the oven, or add stale cereal into a snack bar recipe.

People with diabetes can choose to include bread and bread products in their diet. However, in a diabetes eating plan, people will need to manage bread portions so as not to exceed their total carbohydrate budget. Whole grain, high fiber breads with minimal added sugar may be the best options.

Overall, the ideal flour for baguettes should have a moderate protein content, a fine texture, and should be of high quality. While traditional French type 55 flour is the ideal choice, a combination of all-purpose and bread flour can also work well in its place.

Who makes the best baguette in the world? ›

In late April, Xavier Netry from the Utopie bakery took home the title for the best baguette in the annual Grand Prix de la baguette competition in Paris, beating out more than 170 other competitors.

A baguette is a thin, long loaf of bread with an extremely thin crust and soft, open interior. It is a staple bread in France (but also in many areas worldwide) and is incredibly versatile.

Wait until the bread is cool, then place it in an airtight freezer bag (or wrap tightly in aluminium foil), squeeze out the extra air, zip it closed, and place in the freezer. The bread should keep fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you want to eat your baguette, gently re-heat it from frozen in the oven.

Verdict: You don't need a thermometer to tell if a baguette is fully baked. For best results, simply bake until thoroughly browned. In this case, the color of the crust is more important than the bread's temperature.

Lean doughs like a baguette, for example, will quickly go stale because of its narrow shape and the lack of fat. On the other hand, breads with a higher fat content, such as challah or brioche, will stay fresh longer.

Based on various laws on making bread over the last century, the 1993 le Décret Pain French decree states that traditional French bread must be made only from four main ingredients - good quality water, salt, a rising agent and wheat flour containing no more than 2.8% (in total weight) of bean, soya or malted wheat ...

The result was the creation of the long, thin baguette that we know and love today. The first documented mention of the baguette comes from the 1920s, when it was known as a “pain de fantaisie” or fancy bread. However, it wasn't until the 1930s that the baguette became popular across France.

During the mid-1800s, bread was a stable food. Like today, there were many different types of bread and bread mixtures. Cornmeal, rye, potatoes, rice, hominy, buckwheat and other variant ingredients were used to make different kinds of bread.

Bread consisted only of flour, water, yeast and salt. Dried fruits, herbs and other grains were optional additions to the dough. Lacking thermometers, Colonial cooks tested the oven's temperature by throwing handfuls of cornmeal in the oven and seeing if it would burn, May said.