Side question: Why do people buy baguettes? Do they make sandwiches with them? How do you even make a sandwich from them? How are you meant to beat a baguette???
Side question: Why do people buy baguettes? Do they make sandwiches with them? How do you even make a sandwich from them? How are you meant to beat a baguette???
ELI5: dough can take any shape you give it.
You can load the dough into a metallic shape and close it with a lid, and you’ll get picture 1.
Or you can make a ball out of it and leave it be on a flat surface, and it will naturally expand to look like picture 2.
Side question: narrow shape makes baguette have a more crispy texture, which many people like. It’s also usually produced using a special kind of sourdough, which makes it have unique and rich taste. People eat it as is (just biting it from one end to another) or make small open sandwiches by cutting it in slices and putting all sorts of toppings on top of them.
Why would you want to bake in a container vs a flat surface? Why are some types of bread one shape, and others another? Is it just tradition, or is there some practical aspect?
Baking in a rectangular shape allows you to make a space efficient bread that you can easily stack and transport. Also, it is very predictable, can fit neatly into your toaster, and can be cut in triangles.
Making bread on a flat surface allows you to minimize costs of entry (not only don’t you need the forms which are relatively cheap, you can go with simpler/cheaper ovens), and this kind of bread has a more pronounced crust, which many people like.
Also, rectangular bread is harder to leaven for a long period of time as it comes with numerous technological complications down the production line. This affects the aroma composition, making rectangular bread less attractive for those who want the traditional “bread” taste.
Baguette, as I already mentioned, has a unique crust and crumb texture defined by the shape and baking conditions. Many people like it that way.
Crusts like this generally require a lot of steam in the oven, and steam ovens are usually much more expensive than non-steam ovens.
If you want a homemade loaf that can actually produce the type of bubbly crust you expect in certain types of European style breads, you’ll have to trap a lot of steam where you’re baking it, often by containing it in a Dutch oven.
And shaping/forming a loaf that stays tall when being baked on a flat surface takes skill, lots of practice and experience.
Fair enough!
Or a fairly inexpensive machine that will do it for you. Of course though, there’s a special pleasure in making a truly artisan bread with your own hands. But hey, it’s not that hard if you know what you’re doing. Best to see it in action.
But then again, I speak from the side of low-scale industrial baking. For a home baker, all this machinery will be an overkill.
Whoops, didn’t realize you were talking about industrial scale. I guess that makes sense, and I would have no idea which type of bread uses cheaper equipment.
I saw someone just cut it down the middle and make a long skinny sandwich with one. I didn’t even know that was legal.
Try a jambon-beurre, incredibly simple, incredibly delicious.
I like the idea of the metric subway sandwich being a metre-longue
Do they not have a sub shop on your planet?
Lol, yes, it can be done, but it needs to be packed or cut from one side only, otherwise it will likely fall apart.
(Also it’s an ungodly abomination and there are certainly better options to do this with)