If you know a bit of French, you’ll understand the play on words with today’s title since “pain” translates to “bread” in English. And if you’ve ever enjoyed a fresh, crunchy baguette still warm from the oven of a boulangerie (bakery), then you’ll also comprehend why a podcast entitled, “Why the French are obsessed with bread” piqued my interest. Narrator Pierre begins his story by saying, “in France, there are bakeries on every street corner. Literally.” and we can attest to that. It takes about 15 minutes for us to walk from our house to the center of downtown, and along that direct route we pass four bakeries—plus two more if we take just a one-street detour. Somebody is always selling bread.

Pierre continues by talking about how traditionally every meal must have bread—yep, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course to meet that expectation, somebody has to go to the bakery three times a day to pick up one of those just-baked delights. We see it on our street, like clockwork at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM, some of our neighbors walking up to the bakery at the end of our rue. They even have a printed “fresh now” window sign that reminds me of the Krispy Kreme “Hot Now” flashing neon alert when donuts are ready.

There are more than 30,000 boulangeries in France and it’s said that in Paris you’re never more than five minutes away from one. Generally, they will all sell at least the basic baguette and several derivatives such as the wider flûte, the narrower ficelle, and the oval bâtard. There might be whole wheat, rye, nut, and flax. I once counted 17 choices on a display board and that was before you got to the listing of the viennoiseries like a croissant or a pain au chocolat.

Although bérets are a French cliché that we really don’t see often on the street, a baguette in someone’s hand or under their arm is quite common—ourselves included, although Bill bakes most of the time. To prove how tempting those crusty loaves can be, there’s even a competition between the north and south over what word to use for the heel of the loaf that so many people bite off on their walk home. Whether it’s le guignon or le croûton, at least everyone agrees that they are too tasty to wait.

While the podcast ended there, I wanted to include a few more facts about baguettes that are sometimes only whispered. While lots of people make that daily (or more often) trip to the bakery for fresh bread, others buy several at once, freeze those loaves and oven warm them as required. Want to keep a half baguette from turning into a rock overnight? Wrap it in a plastic bag. Bread vending machines exist, sometimes right beside an instant coffee machine, oh-la-la. And if you’re in Paris on rue Rambuteau and you stop into the Boulangerie – Pâtisserie LeGay Choc, be careful if you ask for a “baguette magique“. Mature audiences only!

Podcast note: Thank you, Sally, for the link to this broadcast available to subscribers to Learn French With Clémence.