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Look for a ‘boulangerie’ with a small yellow and blue sign that indicates it is a proper French bakery. The real clue, though, will be the snaking queue outside!
Until recently, half of Paris’ bakers were legally bound to be in the city at any time. While it must have been a nightmare to negotiate holiday times, this tells you just how important good bread is to the French. Paris simply could not be left short of baguettes. When they repealed the law, their worst fears came true. To allay the baguette shortage, Parisians were going to supermarkets and buying baguettes which they subsequently baked in their own ovens to get them a little crispier.
Of course they are fulfilling their own stereotypes, but there is a reason the French are obsessed with bread: their’s is the best. Even in somewhere as far-away like Latin America, often the best bread you can get is a baguette from a Carrefour supermarket. No one else does the contrast between the crispy, crunchy crust and light, fluffy centre so well.
The baguette is the key element of the traditional continental breakfast in France, where slices of baguette are spread with butter and jam and dunked in bowls of coffee or hot chocolate. Although baguette is a good accompaniment for just about anything, if there is one thing it must be used for in France it is tapenade. This Provençal dish consists of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. Served on thin slices of baguette - baked them extra, if you like - it is divine.
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