Baguette is the most popular bread consumed and enjoyed all year long in France. It plays a crucial role in French culture.
To produce traditional bread, the ingredients must be weighed and mixed, kneaded, fermented, divided, relaxed, shaped by hand, submitted to a second fermentation, and marked with shallow cuts (the baker's signature) before baking. In contrast to other loaves, the baguette only requires four ingredients (flour, water, salt, leaven, and/or yeast), which makes each loaf unique. As baguettes are baked in small batches throughout the day depending on temperature and humidity, they require specific knowledge and techniques. Besides generating modes of consumption and social practices that differentiate the loaves from other types of bread, they also generate specific display racks to accommodate their long shape.
They produce a specific sensory experience due to their crisp crust and chewy texture. There are many contexts in which baguettes are consumed, including in work and school cafeterias, in restaurants, and during family meals. A combination of school courses and work experience at a bakery is the most effective way to transmit the production process. Baking apprenticeships allow future bakers to acquire knowledge of ingredients, tools, and processes. A recent article in the French newspaper Le Monde notes that industrial bakeries have also been putting out-of-business mother-and-pop bakers. The traditional baguette is being replaced by modern favorites such as sourdough or hamburgers.
UNESCO's announcement prompted the French government to announce a Bakehouse Open Day in order to "elevate the status of the artisanal expertise required for the production of baguettes" and to support the creation of expanded scholarship and training programs for bakers. There was skepticism among French bakers. In response to the announcement, Parisian bakers told the New York Times their fears of high wheat and flour costs (due to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine) would not be eased by the baguettes' enhanced status.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/artisanal-know-how-and-culture-of-baguette-bread-01883) (https://fermentationassociation.org/french-baguette-added-to-cultural-heritage-list-as-artisanal-bread-threatened/)