Is a baguette just a baguette?

I have never been a huge eater, quantity-wise. Small meals are much more my thing, so I’ve come to really appreciate eating ‘à la bonne franquette’.  This loosely translates to a lighter meal, typically with breads, cheese and charcuterie.

Though I must admit, it’s easy for this simple meal to quickly get out of hand, what with the variety of cheeses available at rock bottom prices and all this bread.

A light meal ... a la bonne franquette ...

Whether mon amour du pain is the result of growing up with easy access to lovely, crusty, italian loaves or because I’m the grand daughter of bakers, I love bread, so I am more than happy to eat à la bonne franquette any day of the week!

So, after a few months spent here in Belgium, I’ve come to the realization that there’s good bread, and then there’s good bread … a world of difference between the “eurostyle” baguette from my Fortinos back home and the Parisienne style baguettes I’ve come to love here in Brussels.  And I’m not even talking about the ones at the posh, little, corner bakeries, just the regular ones at the Delhaize supermarket taste great to me.

So after all this good bread, I’d been wondering: is authentic French bread really THAT different and really THAT much better?

On a recent weekend trip to Paris, we stayed at a hotel which had a lovely little bakery right next door.  A friend had recommended the hotel and couldn’t stop raving about the little bakery beside it. So I decided to put the real Parisienne baguette to the test.

Maybe it’s a no brainer for anyone reading this, but after tasting the bread (and assorted other patisseries, of course :)) the answer is overwhelmingly YES. Crispy on the outside, fluffy interior and so light …

there’s no other bread like a Parisienne baguette.

Is it the quality of the butter? The other ingredients .. .the actual bread making process?  Admittedly, I have no idea, all I do know for sure is this: there are few things more simple and delicious than a fresh baguette. And if you’re lucky enough to get it hot out of the oven, tant mieux!