In 1993, the French government passed a law known informally as the Loi Raffarin — the bread law. It defined the criteria a baguette must meet to be sold as a "baguette de tradition française." This was not a marketing standard. It was a government decree, signed by a prime minister, protecting a cultural institution.
A baguette de tradition française must be made from exactly four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt, and leavening — either yeast or a sourdough starter. No additives, no improvers, no ascorbic acid, no dough conditioners. It must be made and sold at the same location — meaning it cannot be par-baked off-site and finished in a reheating oven. It must be made from scratch, on the day it is sold.
The industrialization of bread in France during the 1970s and 1980s had nearly destroyed the quality of the national staple. Industrial bakers added improvers to speed fermentation, froze and par-baked loaves, and sold bread that was crunchy for thirty minutes and stale by afternoon. The 1993 decree was an attempt to protect the traditional craft boulanger and give consumers a reliable signal of quality. A baguette de tradition must taste different — because it was made differently, with proper long fermentation that creates flavor and a crust that stays good for hours.
We are not legally required to. Louisiana has no baguette law. But we follow the tradition française standard because it produces a better product, full stop. Our baguettes contain four ingredients: stone-milled flour, filtered water, Gulf Coast sea salt, and our sourdough starter — now eleven years old. They are made every morning and sold that day. We do not freeze dough. We do not use improvers. A baguette from Maison Bertrand will be stale by tomorrow morning — and that is the proof that it was made properly today.
Our baguettes are available from 7 AM daily until sold out — usually by noon. Find us on Frenchmen Street →