French bakers beat Italians for world’s longest baguette

A French baker stands near the baguette as it comes out of a large rotating oven in an attempt to beat the world record for the longest baguette during the Suresnes Baguette Show in Suresnes near Paris, France, May 5, 2024. REUTERS/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

PARIS, France — French bakers cooked the world’s longest baguette on Sunday at 140.53 meters (461 feet), reclaiming a record for one of the nation’s best-known emblems taken by Italy for five years.

The baguette, about 235 times longer than the traditional one, was made in Suresnes in the suburbs of Paris during an event for the French confederation of bakers and pastry chefs.

The previous longest baguette of 132.62 m was baked in the Italian city of Como in June 2019.

To top that, the French bakers began kneading and shaping the dough at 3 a.m. before putting it in a specially built slow-moving oven on wheels.

“Everything has been validated, we are all very happy to have beaten this record and that it was done in France,” Anthony Arrigault, one of the bakers, said after the baguette was approved by the Guinness World Records judge.

Part of the baguette, which had to be at least 5 centimeters thick throughout, was cut and shared with the public.

The rest was to be given to homeless people.

The traditional French baguette must be about 60 cm long, be made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast only, and weigh about 250 grams, according to the official regulation. —REUTERS