La Baguette

Recipe for a 'Baguette de tradition':

Ingredients:
500g wheat flour, 350g water, 12g salt, 7g natural yeast

Instructions:
-Mix the yeast with water. Mix the flour and salt in large bowl, and then gradually add this to the water and yeast mixture. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave it to rise for an hour.
-Dust the surface with flour then divide the dough into three pieces and shape them into baguette. Place these onto a tray lined with baking parchment. Slice each baguette diagonally without cutting in too deep, then cover once more and leave to rise for another hour.
Step three: Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Bake for 15-20mins until rich golden brown.

Region Details:
The baguette was actually introduced from Vienna, Italy when they used Viennese steam injected ovens to bake the bread, which is what gives it its thick crust and typically holey interior. The baguette was introduced to Paris in the midst of the 19th Century when the upper classes strived for new and exciting food. There is nothing more typically French than a warm baguette. Unsurprisingly therefore, within the plaza of Notre dame, Paris holds its own annual ‘fete du pain’, where people can revel amongst some of the best bakers of Paris. The festival is always a success, which is not surprising when the French consume 8 billion baguettes a year, according to Bloomberg news.

How it became integrated into English cuisine: This bread became integrated in England from as early as the 1950’s. Ironically now it is the base for the typically ‘British’ ploughman’s sandwich. The baguette was also once saved from becoming mass-produced in the 1950s, by the famous baker and bread expert Raymond Calvel. However of course, in England you can find these mass produced baguettes in your everyday superstore, although most will tell you, it won't come close to a Parisian 'Baguette de Tradition'.