If when walking around say Paris you notice a few closed for good patisseries or bread shops you may realize that according to statistics French consumption of bread is way down and actually plunging in just the last decade alone.

The NYTimes article says that the average French bloke now eats just a half of a baguette - the most common form of 'French bread' - and the daily staple of many French (who also IME use bits of bread as a utensil when eating - mopping up their plate with it!).

In 1970 the average baguette consumption was a whole baguette per capita and in 1900 it was three baguettes!

In the last decade alone bread consumption in France has plunged 30%.

All this has bakers groups and bread interests in a tizzy and campaigns are being launched to beef up French bread consumption.

alas hings change and the French are getting more health conscious, etc and I'm afraid there may not be a lot less dough in the future of the French bread industry - c'est triste mais c'est vrai

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/wo...able.html?_r=0

oops - above should save 1/2, 1. 3 baguettes per day!

Our friends in Provence are doing all they can to keep the statistics up. So are we here in California.

PalenQ, glad you picked up the ball on this one, as that piece in the NYTimes was a shock to me! Yes, 'additives' going into baguettes to keep them fresher longer! What is the world coming to anyway. So, you Francophiles, you must now ask for a 'traditional' rather than a 'baguette' to be sure the ingredients are only: flour, water, salt, leavening, and not who knows what!!!! Yes, it will cost you more, but it is so worth it.

aliced - maybe that is why my longtime French friend when last here ate at Panera Bread and exclaimed what good bread that was - better than at many bakeries in France she said - maybe the ingredients have changed for the cheapest bread - thanks for that insight I missed skimming thru the NYTimes article.

Does consumption by Americans count? We are planning on doing our part to elevate the numbers.

Wine consumption has plummeted even more per capita among the French.

I have to admit that I buy perhaps one baguette a month, but naturally I also eat bread in restaurants.

The "baguette tradition" was just invented in 1993, which makes me laugh at the name. I still buy normal baguettes at 0.90€ rather than spending 1.10€ on a <i>tradition</i>.

Perhaps it is an anti-health push, and someone said "let them eat cake"?

But don't judge numbers open during this month, many bakeries are en vacances in August.

Filthy stuff, glad to see it is going

We buy a petite boule made with stone-ground wheat about twice a week which we use for toast and sandwiches. At home we don't eat bread with dinner but I buy baguettes when we have guests.

I usually buy the baguette du chef or tradition because they seem to taste better and are crustier. Just my opinion of our local boulangerie--the two in the village seem to be doing well, lines out the door most days and suppliers to local restaurants.

A <i>boule de campagne</i> can be really excellent yet is unknown to most visitors to France.

My French friend now only buys 'Bio' - organic bread at a huge cost over the plain old bread - weird but I prefer the old baguette over the bio stuff.

I also prefer plain baguettes.