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By Kim Laidlaw
Bread is a staple of French gastronomy, but due to a decline in baguette
consumption, the French Bakers Lobby has launched a campaign to get people
eating more loaves.
The campaign s slogan, Coucou, tu as pris le pain? ( Hey there, did you pick
up the bread? ), has been on billboards, bus shelters and bakery windows
throughout the country since June in an attempt to get people to purchase a
baguette on their way home each night.
The reduction in bread consumption is arguably down to a shift in eating
patterns, with people snacking on the go instead of sitting down to a meal.
Furthermore, fewer bakeries are making baguettes in the traditional way,
relying on frozen bread to save costs.
So when you head to France, the best way to ensure you re getting an authentic
loaf is to look out for the word boulanger or boulangerie on the shop front
this means the bread is prepared on site. Good bakeries will offer a variety of
bread, including a baguette tradition, an artisan-made loaf containing just
four ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt) and no additives.
In Paris, head to an authentic independent bakery, like one of the winners of
the annual best baguette competition, such as S bastien Mauvieux (159 rue
Ordener, Montmatre), or Left Bank bakery Au Paradis Du Gourmand (156 Rue
Raymond Losserand). Despite being a chain, the Eric Kayser bakeries are praised
for their range of superlative baguettes, with additions such as poppy seeds or
sesame. And for something all together more modern, Gontran Cherrier who is
one of the stars on the French TV show La Meilleure Boulangerie de France
(France s Best Baker) brings a twist to the French classic with black squid
ink and yellow curry baguettes, sold at his two Right Bank bakeries.