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I thought I knew my friends.
Then we talked about baguettes. You know? Baguettes. The Queen of Bread. The staple in any self-proclaimed bread lover’s arsenal. The epicurean delight whose proper enjoyment thereof separates the wheat from the chaff. I’m likely suffering from a bread and cheese overload. What are the symptoms? Use of thereof?
That’s when I realized, it’s my duty as a caring friend to correct the misconceptions scattered around, like day old crumbs, on why and how to properly buy, store, and eat a baguette. Consider it my good deed for humanity. I can’t in good conscience let friends continue down a garden path choked with stale and chewy bread.
Success is in the details for the big things in life, and that includes eating a baguette correctly, because there is a right and a wrong way. Don’t let Mr. Politically Correct tell you differently. He doesn’t even eat bread.
Buying a Baguette:
In many Canadian shops, a baguette is sold in individual sleeves and the buyer chooses his or her own. One false move in this first step and there’s no saving you or your guests from a dislocated jaw.
* Bonus Tip: To practice for a future visit to France, eat the end off a fresh baguette as soon as you leave the store.
Storing a Baguette:
Sometimes you buy too many baguettes to eat at one sitting. It’s possible. Letting them grow stale on your crumby counter is a crime under the Baguette Union Act. Baguettes can be frozen under the right conditions.
Serving and Eating a Baguette:
There is nothing so sad as having to discard stale baguette. Okay, maybe there are things that are sadder, like an empty jar of Nutella or running out of coffee, but the list is short. Here are my secrets for eating and serving bread that tastes as though it came straight from the bakery.
A friend sent me a link to a baguette wrap. I haven't tried it, but it looks like it could work as well as my high-tech sleeve and plastic bag method.
That’s it. Easy, oui?
Bon Appétit!
To complement the fresh baguette, read these tips on how to store and serve cheese, and learn how to open a pomegranate with a few whacks of a wooden spoon. It works.