The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving and French bread fun facts. Because of this, as we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know.
We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”
For today’s Did You Know we will look at French Bread fun facts.
French Bread Fun Facts: The French have been making long sticks of bread since at least the mid-eighteenth century, but the baguette didn’t become an iconic symbol of French cuisine until the twentieth century. A law passed in 1920 banned workers from beginning their shift before 4am, which made it difficult for French bakers to have fresh bread ready for their customers in the morning. They turned to the fast-baking baguette for a solution, and soon it became a part of daily life.
- The shape of the baguette allows the maximum amount of dough to be exposed directly to heat during the baking process, which produces a thick crust favored by the French, as well as many others. Most baguettes are around 2-3’ in length, and 3-5” in thickness.
- According to a legend, it was Napoleon who asked for the baguette to have a long shape. This made it easier for his soldiers to carry their bread around down their pants while in the battlefield.
- National law dictates that ‘French’ bread should contain only combinations of flour, yeast, salt and water.
- March 21st is National French Bread Day.
- During the 1900s, the French ate almost three baguettes a day per person. Nowadays, only half a baguette. The French diet has changed and now you have other carbohydrates such as pasta to substitute for it.
French Bread Fun Facts We Missed
Please feel free to let us know if we may have missed some french bread fun facts. If we can verify that the facts is just that, a fact, we will give the reader credit in the article.
Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about French Bread
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