(CNN) – The baguette – a mixture of wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and a hint of savoir-faire and a symbol of France as the Eiffel Tower – may soon be on UNESCO’s list of cultural treasures.
Bakers say traditional artisan bread, which buying from the local bakery has been a ritual in French daily life for decades, is being pushed off store shelves, even in France, by frozen bread sticks made on giant assembly lines.
“There is no single secret to making a good traditional baguette,” said Mickael Reydellet, who owns eight bakeries. “It takes time, savoir-faire, the right way to bake, good flour without additives.”
The Confederation of French Bakers has submitted its request to be added to the UN ranking of intangible treasures.
The baguette faces two rivals in the French offer: the galvanized roofs of Paris and the Biou d’Arbois wine festival in the Jura region. France’s Minister of Culture will make his recommendation to the President in March.
Bakers say the UNESCO list would protect know-how that has gone on for generations and protect the baguette from imposters around the world.
UNESCO’s “intangible heritage” marker – designed to recognize oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and traditional handicraft methods – already covers ancient methods of making flat bread in Iran and Kazakhstan.
The art behind 1,500 or more beers produced in Belgium has been recognized, as has the Neapolitan art of spinning pizza.
A 1993 French government decree states that “traditional” baguettes must be made with nothing more than the four classic ingredients. The fermentation of the dough should last 15 to 20 hours at a temperature between 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.
French boulangeries were hit hard by the restrictions of COVID-19 last year. Reydellet said, “This title would comfort bakers and encourage the next generation.”
About 6 million baguettes are sold daily in France. But Dominique Anract, president of the bakers’ federation, said the cultural habit is threatened, with some 30,000 bakeries closing since 1950, when supermarkets took over.
“The first thing we ask a child to do is buy a baguette at a bakery.” Anract said. “We owe it to ourselves to protect those habits.”