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- - French Bread (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/french-bread-173498/)

Does the US Government have any rules about bringing French bread into the country. I sure want to bring some back for my family to enjoy but don't want to wind up in jail. Has anyone tried it? How about pastry?

Unless it's rye bread, I think by the time you get it here, it would no longer be too fresh.

You can bring it - - but your best results will be if you are flying on the Concorde. It just isn't the same after about 12 hours. Back in the oven for 5 minutes can help rejuvenate it a little bit - - but not much beyond the next day. Best wishes, Rex

According to this USDA booklet, bread is OK. But it's true that French bread doesn't keep very well, I'd try wrapping it in plastic even though at home i'd never do that. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/travel.html#list

can anyone tell me the difference between French bread & Italian bread?

At the risk of over-simplifying - - and offending a few people - - it's like the difference between gold and base metal.

I bought a loaf at Poilane and brought it home the next day; as others have said, it is best eaten day it is baked. Pastries might fare a bit better.

Both French and Italian bread (most varieties) is not meant to be kept beyond the day it was baked, as it contains little yeast. But you can sometimes revive it by popping into a microwave for around 20 sec.

my old boyfriend's mom was French. She used wipe a little water on a loaf of stale French bread and pop it in the toaster oven to refresh it.

Yes, Ruth you may! That said, the famous Poilane Bread is flown in daily, availabe in N.Y. and here in Boston

Dampen a dish towel with water, wring out, then wrap around the bread and microwave full power for one minute (for a full size loaf).

I can't believe people are suggesting to put french bread brought from Europe in a micro-wave. I wouldn't even subject plain old Wonderbread to the micro-wave, as once any bread warmed up in a microwave cools down you can use it for patio blocks. Micro-waving is the worst thing in my opinion on how to revive bread. My vote goes to putting it in the toaster on a very light setting. And for Rex, I would rather eat Italian base metal than the amalgamation of flour, water and what-ever-else goes into that American stuff sold as bread in super markets. Ron

<<Rex, I would rather eat Italian base metal than the amalgamation of flour, water and what-ever-else goes into that American stuff sold as bread in super markets.>> Yes, I agree. On the other hand, I think that every "euro-dite" has a duty and obligation to God, country and self to find someone in his/her own local community who can make some decent bread. We have a good French baker here in Columbus. Will I share the name? Heck no. You have to come join in on one of my European grocery tours! <wink...>

German bread is best !

You wouldn't get thrown in jail for bringing in bread. (Only if there were drugs or other illegal substances in it). Worst case scenario is that they would take your bread and maybe do a thorough search of your luggage.

My fiance owns a French bakery and bakes the breads, so I regulary transport 'pain ancienne' and 'pain au chocolat' with me in Ziploc bags after having squeezed as much air out as possible b/c the cabin pressure hurts both breads and pastries.

Ron, have you ever wrapped a full loaf of French bread in a wet, but wrung out dish towel and then microwaved it for one minute? If you haven't, then don't knock it. It comes out as close to fresh as you can get. Toasted french bread is quite another thing.

trying to refresh, one more time

Do others agree that French bread is all that much better than Italian bread?

AND---what is the difference between French & Italian bread? Different ingredents or method of baking??

Tom: Definitely NOT. There is outstanding French bread and outstanding Italian bread. (Same is probably true for similar breads Greece and Spain and probably all southern European countries.) There is also a lot of mediocre bread in both countries. I had the best bread in both countries in the country and in small towns from small local bakeries. I had the worst bread in either country in Paris served with a meal, and also had mediocre bread (but not as bad)served with some meals in Florence. (The mediocre bread was like average adequate Italian or French bread made in the USA; the best French and Italian breads were better than the best locally-made Italian and French breads I've had in the US.) When I commented on the high quality of a particular bread to some local people in Sicily, I was told that it was because of the special wheat used that is not commonly used in the USA. Parts of Sicily are major wheat growing areas; I don't know whether the same is true for France. I had great old-fashioned peasant-style bread in a little town in Basilicata where foreigners rarely visit. The best bread I had in the Dordogne was served at a farmhouse and had been bought at a local bread bakery from an eccentric elderly proprietor. Then locals hinted that we wouldn't want to know how the baker puts out his fires, and that while it's the best bread around, they hurry to buy it and run off the premises before the baker has a chance to handle it much.

This method of dousing fires is described at least as far back as Jonathan Swift (in Gulliver's Travels), and undoubtedly has existed for a lot longer than that. It's a guy thing.