Bread, bread, bread

F r e n c h b r e a d

"Bread: a common food made from flour, water, and usually yeast (a substance that makes the bread grow larger). Bread is usually sold in a large piece called loaf or made into smaller pieces called rolls. You usually cut bread into slices to eat it."

Bread is one of the most emblematic symbol of France. In French gastronomic culture, it is always present. To buy bread is something completely normal and common in France since 9 out of 10 Frenchmen buy fresh bread everyday.

At the end of the 19th, the French consumed around 600 grams of bread per day, which represents something like 3 baguettes per day and per person (!). It was indeed the basic food for people, they would eat it accompanied with a fruit or with a piece of cheese and it would serve as a whole meal. Nowadays the French only consume 140 grams per day. However the drop in the consumption of bread does not change the fact that bread has been at the heart of the French culture since many centuries, in constant creation and innovation. It is a constant element in the Frenchman's everyday life that is associated with the idea of pleasure, quality and balance.

Only 3% of the French consider bread as a "fattening food". 50% of them think that it is "something essential to a balance diet" and the rest think that it is "a pleasant garnish for meals". The older you get, the more you consider bread as something essential and not only something that we eat by pleasure or by weakness for good food.

It is even considered an art! In 2004, the designer Jean-Paul Gaultier even created dresses made out of bread, brioche or Viennese Pastry!

In France there are more than 37000 bakeries... and at least as many ways to make bread! It even exists a national event called "Bread Festival", to celebrate, promote and share the bakers know-how to everyone for one whole week.

What does bread provide for us?

A normal ration (about 200gr/day) will provide 25% of the recommended daily energetic requirements, without making you fat and its sating effect will help avoid misplaced nibbling.

Bread contains 55% of glucids, that is to say "carbs" that will release energy throughout the day, contrarily to fast sugars. It also contains fibers, which will help you regularize the transit of your bowels, slow down the digestion and help lower cholesterol. Depending on the bread you eat, it will provide minerals, vegetal proteins and vitamins.

To conclude, there is only one thing left to say: "Eat bread!"