The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

French husband says term bâtard unfamiliar

BreadBabies's picture
BreadBabies

French husband says term bâtard unfamiliar

I baked some baguette dough into baguette and bâtard shapes today. My husband, who has a German mother and French father and was raised in both countries, offered a tidbit of information that surprised me as he was munching down an American style sandwich between his French baguette halves.

He says he is completely unfamiliar with the term bâtard. Here's how he is used to ordering.

Baguette - the shape we know

Un Pain - a fat baguette, aka a long bâtard.  Yes, pain is the generic term for bread, but with the indefinite article in front, it apparently means this particular shape.

Banette - something in between a baguette and un pain.

I'm skeptical.  I've told my husband the next time his grandmother calls (they chat every couple weeks), to see if she concurs with this opinion. He claims he's never seen the word bâtard in any French bakery. Then again, it's not a very nice word.

For reference, in case this is regional, my husband grew up in the Loire Valley and that's where his family still resides.

-Amy

alfanso's picture
alfanso

Direct from Paris.

although the circumflex is missing.  Regional dialect would not be surprising.

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

It is my impression that there are both regional and temporal variables. Alan, if you look at the upper-left side of your reference towel, you will see a loaf labelled "pain." Probably what Amy's husband had in mind. If you look at the illustration on Page 58 of Vol. II or Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which I'm sure we all keep constantly within reach, you will find an illustration of French bread shapes as of the mid-'70's. There are shapes respectively called "bâtard," "joko," "pain boulot" and "ficelle," all of which are, to my eye, just minor variations in thickness and length.

David

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

The following is page 74 from Raymond Calvel's, "The Taste of Bread" - a translation of "Le Goût du Pain". I think it's self explanatory: