Bread Battle Royale: Rye vs Baguette
By Nina Seffusatti
Two kinds of bread, two different kinds of lives.
Having lived 25 wonderful years in France, but born in Denmark, there's still one thing missing from my birth country, and that is the rye bread—in Danish: rugbrød ( a word that is difficult to pronounce, like so many other Danish words).
It is one of the first things I'll buy and enjoy with great pleasure when I'm «back home» in Denmark. The tasty rye bread is dense, like the image of brooding Scandinavians. It is dark, like the Danish-produced televison crime shows.
It takes time to make a good rye bread with a sourdough, but the bread will stay fresh for days. You do not need to go to the baker every day. And it's healthy bread: low in fat, rich in whole grain and dietary fiber, and good for digestion. A few slices will fill your stomach—for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner—and it keeps you going for hours. Great for generations of poor, hard-working people.
Fresh Danish rugbrød
Image | Nina Seffusatti
The rye bread is the base for the fabulous Danish-style open sandwich, smørrebrød, topped with all kinds of cold cuts or fish, or shrimp. Nowadays, there are no limits to the creations of smørrebrød in the modern Nordic cuisine.
Rye has been cultivated for over 1000 years in the Nordic countries, but in the 1800s, they started making more white bread. This would mostly be used for celebrations and by the upper social classes. In some rural and poorer parts of Denmark, the white bread was seen as sophisticated, and they called it «cake» or «french bread », whereas the rye bread was simply «bread».
In France the baguette—the official word used since 1920 in France, a word that is easy to pronounce, a word that is internationally known and used. A good baguette is one of the first things I'll buy and enjoy with my lovely french cheeses when I'm «back home» in France. It is a wheat flour bread with a crispy crust, light in the dough—like the spirited Frenchmen, like the «latin lover»..
Not the best nutritional value, rapidly consumed, and sooo tempting to finish all of it, when you buy it from the baker, you break off the croûton, the crispy end of the baguette, and eat it on your way home. Such a guilty pleasure!
The baguette is rapidly prepared and baked. And since it’s usually very dry the next day, you'll need to go to the baker every day. Buying the baguette is part of the daily routine. Obviously you have your favourite places, and finding the best one is an important part of discussions —«Have you tried the baker on the corner of such-and-such street?».
A baguette bonanza
Image | Inspired by France
The French started making the baguette in the 1700s. It was mostly consumed by the upper classes. This changed after WWII when it became a highly popular bread, and in many ways, it has become one of the symbols of French culture.
A baguette accompanies any French meal–also for picnics or even a quick lunch (yes, the French are able to have a quick meal also!). A good baguette sandwich with the high quality butter, ham and cheese, can easily compete with a bad burger.
So I'm partly rugbrød, partly baguette—two very different kinds of pleasures. But please don't ask me to choose. I’m just happy to have this incredible wealth of two cultures! And from my travels and visits to ethnic restaurants I fondly remember Vietnamese bahn mi, Italian ciabatta, Indian naan...yes, I'm a bread geek!
