All About the Baguette: The Ten Best in Paris

Good bread is one of the greatest of all French culinary delights. It’s hard to beat the simplicity of crusty golden baguettes with salty Brittany butter – a simple yet irrisisstible treat. Finding the best traditional baguette in the city is no doubt high on the list of things to do for visitors. Fortunately The City of Paris held its annual contest to guide us on our quest for the best baguette in Paris in 2024. 

the Best Baguette in Paris Competition – Grand Prix de la Baguette Tradition de Française de la Ville de Paris –

Every year in the center of Paris, French bakers make their submissions for the best baguette, awarded by the City of Paris. For the 31st edition, the deputy mayor, journalists, industry experts and local Parisians made up the panel of judges savoring the entries to anoint the best baguette in the Paris competition. This year there were 172 contenders for the Grand prize money of €4000. The lucky winner also has the the honor of being the supplier of baguettes for both the Town Hall of Paris and for President Macron and his guests at the Elysée Palace for an entire year. 

One interesting facet of this prestigious award is that despite the traditional French baguette being an iconic and integral part of French culture, a number of past winners have family origins outside of France. This has also included bakers such as Karim Akrout of Les Boulangers de Reuilly, Mahmoud M’seddi (who at 27 in 2018 was the youngest winner of the prize) of Boulangerie 2M, Djibril Bodian from Le Grenier à Pain in the 18th arrondissement, Yosuké Fujie of Maison Landemaine Martyrs, Anis Bouabsa, along with others.

Last year’s winner Tharshan Selvarajah from Au levain des Pyrénées, Paris 75020, was born in Sri Lanka and moved to France from Sri Lanka years ago after studying law in his native country. He worked in an Italian restaurant in his early days in France. One of the patrons, Xavier Maulave, was the owner of a local bakery, Au Levain des Pyrénées. He later offered a job to Selvarajah. Accepting the position at the local boulangerie, despite knowing little about baking bread, turned out to be a life changing decision for Selvarajah. Upon winning, Selvarajah told AFP “I cried because we are foreigners and we came here to learn how to make traditional French bread …I am very happy to have won the prize.”

What makes a great baguette? 

Smell, taste, texture, the quality of baking and appearance are the criteria used to judge the competition. Each baguette must have an elongated shape that is 55-70 cm in length, weigh 250-300 grams, and have 18 grams of salt per kilo of wheat flour. It should be elastic with a crunchy crust. Judges also looked for irregular sized and spaced holes in the interior indicating proper fermentation.

BEst Baguette in Paris Winners

The coveted award of best baguette of the year goes to…..(drumroll please)

Xavier Netry of Boulangerie Utopie, 20 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud

The 37 year old prevailed over 172 competitors in this year’s competition, gaining recognition for work he has done for 25 years, since his teen years.

Complete list of winners of this year’s competition are (in order):

1. Boulangerie Utopie — 20, rue Jean-Pierre-Timbaud (11th arrondissement)
2. Maison Doré — 29, rue Gay-Lussac (5^{th arrondissement})
3. La Parisienne — 85, rue Saint-Dominique (7^{th arrondissement})
4. Boulangerie Rougès — 45, avenue de Saint-Ouen (17^{th arrondissement})
5. L’Écrin gourmand — 15, avenue du Docteur-Arnold-Netter (12^{th arrondissement})
6. Boulangerie AA — 63, rue du Javelot (13^{th arrondissement})
7. Boulangerie Paris and Co – 4, rue de la Convention (15^{th arrondissement})
8. Maison M — 2, avenue de la Porte-Didot (14^{th arrondissement})
9. Aux Délices de Vaugirard — 48, rue Madame (6^{th arrondissement})
10. Du Pain et Vous — 63, avenue Bosquet (7^{th arrondissement})

And if you can’t make it to Paris to taste-test the winning baguette for yourself? Check out this baguette recipe from past winner Anis Bouabsa (formerly of Au duc de la chapelle) and make your own fresh bread at home!

RELATED LINKS

• A fresh baguette is so good paired with French butter! Here’s why butter is better in France.
• Dreaming of a place of your own in Paris where you walk down to your local boulangerie for fresh baked bread? Check out our latest Fractional Marais apartment for sale.
• Another favorite from any French bakery: croissants. And you don’t have to search far and wide because we know where to find the best croissants in Paris!
• A helpful tip is to know some street lingo especially when ordering at a boulangerie. Find out some common French-isms to learn for your next trip in France.

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