Baguette (pronounced ba-get)
(1) In ad-hoc application, a descriptor (based on
baguette in the sense of “stick” , “rod” or “wand”) for an object with a narrow,
relatively long rectangular shape (applied in the past as baguette magique (magic wand), baguettes
chinoises (chopsticks) & baguette
de direction (conductor's baton)).
(2) In jewelry design, a small gem-stone in a rectangular
shape, achieved by cutting & polishing.
(3) A gem-stone in this shape (used especially for
diamonds).
(4) In architecture, a small convex molding (a narrow,
relatively long rectangular shape, especially one in a semi-circular section.
(5) In zoology, one of the minute bodies seen in the
divided nucleoli of some infusoria after conjugation.
(6) As an ethnic slur (can be mildly offensive, but also used
neutrally or affectionately as an alternative to “frog”), a French person, or a
person of French descent.
(7) A type of French bread, actually defined in law by
the ingredients and methods of production but most associated with the long,
narrow shape.
1720–1730: From the French baguette (or baguet) (a type of architectural ornament, based on the sixteenth century sense of the word as “a wand, rod, stick”), from the Italian bacchetta (literally “a small rod” and the diminutive of bacchio (rod), from the Latin baculum (a stick or walking-stick (and linked to the later bacillus)). The construct was bacch(io) + -etta. The –etta suffix (the feminine of –etto), as well as indicate the feminine was used also with inanimate nouns ending (usually ending in –a) to create a literal diminutive (such as with boteca (shop, store), rendering botechetta (small shop). The term was first used in gem-stone cutting in 1926 and in countries where the French colonial history left some linguistic trace, baguette is applied to some items such as the gun-stick (the rod for forcing ammunition into the barrel of a gun and in Louisianan Cajun, it referred to the barrel itself). Like English, Danish, German, Spanish and Swedish adopted the French spelling which in other languages the variations included the Czech bageta, the Greek μπαγκέτα (bagkéta), the Hebrew בגט (bagét), the Norwegian (Bokmål & Nynorsk) bagett, the Portuguese baguete, the Romanian baghetă, the Russian баге́т (bagét) and the Turkish baget. Baguette & baguet are nouns; the noun plurals are baguettes & baguets.
The origin of the baguette (as it's now understood) is truly a mystery and there are so many tales that it's recommended people choose to believe which ever most appeals to the. In France, a true baguette (Baguette
artisanale) is made from ingredients and with a method defined in law while
the famous shape is a convention.
Typically, baguettes have a diameter between 50-75 mm (2-3 inches) and
are some 610-710 mm (24-26 inches) in length although the 1 m (39 inch) baguette
is not unusual, popular especially with the catering trade. It’s a little misleading to suggest the
baguette was invented because for centuries loaves in the shape existed in many
places around the world and recipes for the mixing of dough were constantly
subject to changes imposed by the success of harvests, economics, supply-chain
disruptions and simple experimentation. The
baguette instead evolved and its popularity was a thing of natural selection;
it survived because people preferred the taste, texture and convenience of form
while other breads faded from use. It
seems clear that the long, stick-like direct ancestors of the baguette began to
assume their recognizably modern form in French towns and cities in the
eighteenth century although doubtless there was much variation between regions and
probably even between bakers in the same place.
The daily bread being the classic market economy, bakers would be
influenced by losing sales to a more popular shop and so would adjust their
mixes or techniques to attract customers back.
In this way a standardized form would have emerged and, in the French
way, by 1920 the assembly had passed a law codifying the critical parameters (weight,
size and price), formalizing the popular name baguette. In 2003, the jocular slang "freedom bread" emerged to describe the baguette, an allusion to the "Freedom Fries" which replaced "French Fries" in US government staff canteens while there was tension between the White House and the Élysée Palace over France's attitude to the proposed invasion of Iraq.
Lindsay Lohan in promotion for @lilybakerjewels, 2020. The Rainbow Baguette Ring (centre) using stones cut in a true “baguette” rectangle whereas the Rainbow Bracelet used squares.
Globalization and modern techniques of mass production
however intruded on many aspects of French lives and bakeries weren’t immune
from the challenge of the cheap “baguette” sold by supermarkets. Even among the boulangerie (a French bakery in which the bread must, by law, be
baked on-premises) there were some who resorted to less demanding methods of
production to compete. As a matter of cultural
protection, the assembly in 1993 enacted Le
Décret Pain (The Bread Decree) which stipulates that to be described as pain maison (homemade bread), a bread
needs to be wholly kneaded, shaped, and baked at the place of sale. To limit the scope of the supermarkets (some
of which were importing frozen, pre-prepared dough), rules also defined what pain
traditionnel français (traditional
French bread) may be made from and banning any pre-made components from baguettes.
Also retained was the relevant provision
of the 1920 labor legislation which prohibits the employment of people in bread
and pastry making between ten in the evening and four in the morning. So, when visiting a boulangerie, it’s recommended to ask for a baguette de tradition
française (usually as baguette de tradition) which is made from wheat
flour, water, yeast, and common salt (reflecting modern practice, one may contain
up to 0.5% soya flour, up to 2% broad bean flour and up to 0.3% wheat malt
flour) and the dough must rest between 15-20 hours at a temperature between 4-6o
C (43-46o F). The less exalted
baguettes ordinaires, are made with
baker's yeast and a less exacting specification.
The French Ministère de la Culture’s (Ministry of Culture) L'inventaire national du Patrimoine culturel immatériel (National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage) in 2018 added the baguette to its
index and in 2022, the artisanal know-how and culture of the baguette was
added to UNESCO’s (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Already preserving the information about some
600 traditions from more than 130 countries, UNESCO noted the addition by
saying it celebrated the French way of life, something of which the baguette,
as a central part of the French diet for at least 100 years, was
emblematic. With some 16 million
consumed in France every day, the “…the
baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with
sharing and conviviality", a statement from UNESCO read, concluding it
was “…important that these skills and
social habits continue to exist in the future."
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