The French know how to make great baguettes, right? There’s not much debate there. No one will always say, “Well, the French haven’t really proven their baguette-making skills yet.”
but please wait a moment. Can the French make a big baguette? An incredibly long baguette that could feed a small town?
yes. It turns out they can do it too.
French bakers in Sarene, just west of Paris, created a 461-foot baguette on Sunday. According to Guinness World Records, this giant loaf of bread has succeeded in handing the title of world’s longest baguette back to France, surpassing the 435-foot baguette made by Italians (gasp) in 2019.
It’s longer than a soccer field. hang on. Stop. we are in france It is the length of nine petanque courts.
Before you accuse bakers of making absurdly thin baguettes to game the system, know that the record-setting baguette must be about 2 inches thick.
A team of 18 people began shaping the dough from 200 pounds of flour starting at 3 a.m. and slowly started putting it into the oven around 5 a.m. It came out little by little from the other side and was fully baked.
It was a big moment for Suresnes. Town leaders sent out a flurry of messages on social media before and after the burning.
“Bravo au boulanger,” the town declared. (“Well done, baker.”)
“Saresnes is proud to have been the setting for the world’s longest baguette record, which is a national symbol of our gastronomy and promotes the artisans who perpetuate their know-how.” Mayor Guillaume Boudi told the town’s newsletter. Website.
Dominique Enracht, president of the National French Bread and Pastry Federation, gave a small nod to an event taking place in the region this summer that probably won’t garner as much attention as Baguette’s feat.
“Congratulations to all our bakers on this Olympic year,” he said, adding: “Our baguettes are an important part of our gastronomic tradition.”
The baked baguettes were distributed to members of the public, including homeless people. But only after spreading Nutella, of course.
So the baguette was huge. However, it could not be called a success. For that, we need to turn to the annual Baguette Grand Prix.
For the past 30 years, this event has rigorously judged baguettes on taste, texture, and many other factors. The jury includes bakers, politicians, ordinary citizens, and journalists (unfortunately not this one).
This year’s winner, out of 173 participants who competed in April, was Xavier Netry of Boulangerie Utopie in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
Furthermore, in 2022, along with Ukrainian borscht, Korean kimchi, and Haitian soup jumou, the French baguette, not Italian, American, Burkina hotpot, or Monegas, was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Even if some other upstart nation made a 500-foot baguette tomorrow, France would still be one of the few.