The One Thing You Should Know Before Ordering a Baguette in France

This article is part of our Cocktail Chatter series, where we dive into the wild, weird, and wondrous corners of history to share over a cocktail and impress your friends.

The French baguette is losing steam: From 1970 to 2022, the number of traditional boulangeries in France dropped by roughly 400 a year from about 55,000 to 35,000. In response, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted the French baguette its Intangible Cultural Heritage designation to preserve the tradition of breadmaking.

Though the numbers might suggest this culinary staple is waning, there still appears to be no shortage of baguettes in the country. In Paris, pedestrians will see locals and tourists alike walking the streets with the loaf of bread in tow, either clutched under the arm or poking out of a bag. The city also hosts a prestigious annual competition to find the best baguette in Paris, in which over 100 bakers submit their best loaves to be measured, weighed, and tasted for a chance to win a cash prize and a one-year contract to be the exclusive baguette supplier to the French president’s residence. But for those looking to experience the country’s carb culture in the most authentic way, there’s only one type of baguette to order.

The best baguettes slung around Paris are of a certain, government-controlled variety, thanks to a French law passed in 1993. The 1993 décret du pain (the bread decree), which sought to protect the sacred practice of breadmaking, legislated that baguettes labeled “tradition” must be made with just wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast or sourdough starter — no preservatives or other additives. The dough can also never be frozen, and the baguettes must be baked on the site where they are sold. “Baguettes de tradition” is the only government-controlled bread category.

The designation works much like the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, which mandates that wines labeled under a given region must follow specific quality and production standards, such as permitting certain grapes, aging methods, and additives. Similarly, at boulangeries around the country, loaves of bread are often placed into different baskets, with each label corresponding to the respective variety.

Ordering a stick from the tradition — aptly named and easy to remember, as it is the most traditional variety — basket ensures you’ll be eating the highest-quality bread, one with a craggly and sturdy exterior that opens to a bouncy, stretchy interior. Flavors of toasted and fresh yeast will be strong throughout.

Other baguette varieties include the “baguette classique” (also labeled as “ordinaire”) and the “baguette aux céréales” (also labeled as “aux graines”). A classique is a run-of-the-mill baguette, not protected under any government regulations, meaning the dough could have been frozen or it could contain preservatives to elongate its shelf life. A baguette aux céréales is the multigrain version of a baguette, with seeds and grains studding the loaf.

When ordering a baguette — whether de tradition or not — there are some other ways to communicate with the boulanger to ensure the bread will suit your specifications. Those who like sturdy, crunchy bread can ask for one bien cuite, or well cooked. Those who like a softer and more chewy loaf can ask for one pas trop cuite, or not too cooked. In either case, the baker will inspect their loaves and hand you the one that best suits your needs.

Whether mass-produced or not, any baguette in France is likely to be tasty and to evoke warm, happy feelings of European life. But when traveling the country, ordering your bread à la française can elevate that feeling, one yeasty crunch at a time.

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