How to buy bread - the French way (2024)

FAQs

What is the French law on bread? ›

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.

Score the top of each loaf: Use a sharp knife, razor blade, or bread lame to quickly score the surface of the loaves. Slash each baguette at a 45-degree angle 4 to 5 times along the loaf's axis. Bake the loaves: Bake the loaves according to the recipe's directions immediately after scoring.

| Hello, madam! (Hello, sir!) Une baguette tradition, s'il vous plaît. | One traditional baguette, please.

One of the secrets of a great baguette is to start with a sponge (a mix of flour, water, and yeast), which gives the yeast time to mature and combine with the other ingredients, creating the mildly sour and nutty flavors and chewy texture.

Sample Phrase: Je prend une baguette, s'il vous plaît. I'll have a baguette please. Variations: normal or tradition. Bien-cuite or pas trop cuite.

So many artisans, so many different kinds of baguette. This is the number of customers in France who go into a boulangerie every day to buy bread. 95% of French people eat bread every day.

1 – Regular French Baguette = Cheap Bread in France

Hence, the bakers use the cheapest ingredients to keep it low cost. And some people apparently like that taste because “le pain” (the bigger loaf of French bread”) and “la baguette” still sell like… hot cakes (pun intended). Of course, it's a question of taste.

Without scoring, the steam will find its own weak point and burst through the crust as it hardens, this creates unwanted bulges and blowouts in your bread. The goal of scoring is to guide the way dough rises in the oven in a way that helps it maintain its shape and allows it to take full advantage of oven spring.

Scoring bread is easiest with a sharp implement. You can use a sharp paring knife or kitchen scissors to snip lines into the top of the unbaked bread boule. Or you can use a tool that professional bakers use to score, called a bread lame. It's essentially a razor blade affixed to a handle for easy maneuvering.

Scoring is slashing the dough with a blade or a sharp knife to allow it to expand during baking. The purpose is primarily to control the direction in which the bread will expand during “oven spring.” Easier said then done!

What do the French call a loaf of bread? ›

Baguette – a long, thin type of bread of French origin. The "baguette de tradition française" is made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and common salt.

In France, most good bakeries put their energy toward the most artisanal baguette: the baguette “tradition”. By a law enacted in 1993, a baguette “tradition” can only contain four ingredients: flour, leavening, water, and salt. There are usually hand-formed and baked on the premises, and have sourdough starter in them.

Almost all French people have bread for breakfast. Toasted or not, it is eaten with butter and/or jam, honey or chocolate spread, and dipped into their mug of coffee. Although this can be a bit messy with crumbles of bread falling into the coffee and drops of coffee falling on the table, the French love it.

From breakfast to dinner, on its own or with spreads, toppings, or fillings, baguettes are eaten all day long. According to the 2016 French National Survey of Food Behavior and Consumption (CCAF), 98% of French people believe that bread is a must-have part of their diet.

Bread is essential to the French, who eat a lot of it, with each meal, each course – except desert when bread is put away. It is served in slices in a basket. Help yourself, then put the bread directly on the tablecloth, close to your plate – not on your plate. If you are in a formal place, bread plates might be used.

The most popular French bread you will certainly know is… La Baguette!

Eating with your hands is considered impolite, so make sure to tuck into that steak frites with your knife and fork. Notable exceptions include bread and certain dishes including asparagus. One thing you may have noticed in France is people do not cut their salads. Do so, and you might receive a few funny looks.

No burping and no slurping. Never say you don't like something – it's one of the most important French table manners to comment only positively on the food. Don't snap your fingers to call a waiter. (And don't say garçon!

(Bread is meant to accompany a meal and sop up sauce, it's not a separate course, so butter isn't usually served with bread in France.

The Flour War refers to a wave of riots from April to May 1775, in the northern, eastern, and western parts of the Kingdom of France. It followed an increase in grain prices, and subsequently bread prices; bread was an important source of food among the populace.

Can I take a loaf of bread to France? ›

Packaged food items: Non-perishable packaged food items, such as cereals, pasta, and canned goods, are generally allowed. Baked goods: Baked goods, such as bread and cakes, are allowed as long as they do not contain any meat or dairy products.

Its measurements are: 55-65 cm long, and it weighs 250-300 grams. It consists of four ingredients: flour, yeast, salt and water. According to the French Bread Decree from 1993, a traditional baguette must follow certain rules. Besides having a precise size and weight, it cannot be frozen or contain additives.

How to ask for bread in French. Usually your meal will come with a little basket of freshly cut bread. That bread is included in the price of your meal, much like the tap water and the service, and should never appear on your final bill.