When I first met Therese back in the 80’s she was the lead singer in a punk band named Quixotic Tendencies, (I should have known then!) and she loved singing loud and proud. Therese still loves to sing and is the soundtrack on our cycling tour through France, sustained on a diet made up primarily of cafe au lait and baguettes.

I confess to being a bit of a ‘Francophile’. After all, it was the French who gave us the modern geared bicycle, the Tour De France, the Statue of Liberty and the humble baguette.

Traditional baguettes are made with wheat flour, with no additives, water, salt and a yeast or sourdough starter. They are the result of an expertly managed baking process. In fact, the French Government has enshrined in law how a baguette is to be made and sold! The law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they’re sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can’t be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.

I enjoy observing the daily social ritual of people buying bread, more specifically a Baguette. “Bonjour Madam”, says the older gentleman, there’s a polite exchange a few social niceties, incidental banter with other customers and he’s on his way, shuffling off into Tuesday. No doubt he will be back again tomorrow.

Because the baguette won’t keep. It has also become part of the daily life of the French people to walk, or more commonly, cycle, to their local boulangerie or patisserie to pick up the daily delicacy every morning.

Having eaten a fair number of baguettes, and other baked goods, as part of my research, I think the perfect baguette for a hungry cyclists breakfast needs to be oven-warm to the touch, crispy and crunchie on the outside, while soft and fluffy on the inside, yet firm enough to take the filling of your choice if desired.

It’s said man (or woman) can’t live on bread alone, but in France, you can come close.