France bakes world’s biggest baguette and it definitely won’t fit in your oven
Bakers in Paris made the world’s longest baguette, measuring longer than a football pitch, and reclaimed a title held by Italy for the past five years.
The French team beat the previous world record of 435.1ft, achieved in Como in June 2019.
The 140.53m baguette, which is about 235 times longer than a traditional one, was made in the suburb of Suresnes on Sunday at an event for the French Confederation of Bakers and Pastry Chefs.
The bakers began kneading and shaping the dough at 3am, before putting it in a specially-built slow-moving oven on wheels.
‘Everything has been validated, we are all very happy to have beaten this record and that it was done in France,’ Anthony Arrigault, one of the bakers, said after the baguette was approved by the Guinness World Records judge.
How does it compare?
In case you’re struggling to picture how long 461ft/140.53m is, we thought we’d offer some comparisons.
A double decker bus is 36ft5/11.1m, so the baguette is as long as 12 and a half of those parked end-to-end.
A standard football pitch is 105m/344ft5, so approximately two thirds as long as the record-breaking loaf.
The confederation’s president Dominique Anract, meanwhile, said: ‘A record for the longest handcrafted baguette requires true spirit and collective sportsmanship,’ said
‘In this year of the Olympics, congratulations to all our artisan bakers.
‘Bread is an engine of performance, our baguette is an essential part of our gastronomic heritage.’
Part of the baguette, which had to be at least 5cm (2 inches) thick throughout, was cut and shared with the public.
The rest was to be given to homeless people.
The traditional French baguette must be about 60cm (23.6 inches) long, be made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast only, and weigh about 250 grams, according to the official regulation.
Last year a Nigerian chef broke a world record after cooking for 100 hours straight.
The 27-year-old made 110 meals in Lagos and created more than 55 dishes in order to showcase her nation’s cuisine.
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