By Julie Gerbet

Will the epitome of the Frenchman, with a baguette under his arm, survive the revolution that is taking place in the world of bakery? Take a look around the new Parisian bakeries and you will not come across any or few sacrosanct baguettes: from the start, we wanted to make a single signature bread with natural fermentation: in addition to being more interesting in taste, it meets ecological concerns because it can be kept for several days," explains Alice Quillet, co-founder of Telles Belles Bread. This resistance to standardised bread, led by a few sweet bread lovers (Rolland Feuillas, Nicolas Supiot, etc.), often bakers based in the countryside, has spread to the big cities in recent years. Anthony Courteille, founder of the Sain bakery, just off the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, explains that he wanted to differentiate himself with a large signature loaf of 1 kg, made from a mixture of ancient wheat flour and toasted chestnut flour. The aim: to offer a very personal product, which goes against the identical and soulless baguettes that have invaded bakeries over the last twenty years.

Advocating the use of old flours, good old methods (sourdough + natural fermentation) and a praise for slowness, these new aces of the bakery practice a salutary return to the sources with multiple benefits: these varieties of wheat are cultivated in the respect of the environment, better for health and have a greater richness of taste. In addition, natural fermentation pre-degrades gluten and makes the bread more digestible.

While more and more bakers are banning baguettes from their bakeries because they are not very filling, poor in nutrients, do not keep well and are even indigestible when underbaked, will the baguette be the fatal victim of a fight against industrial bakeries? The neo-bakers have not said their last word, following the example of Anthony Courteille, who has been reintroducing the baguette into his bakery for a few months now: a well-made baguette, made with sourdough, which ferments naturally, and with developed aromas.