History of the Baguette： Legends， Laws， and Lengthy Loaves 法棍的傳奇身世

Margo+Lestz++譯+趙青奇

What could be more traditionally French than the baguette， that long slender loaf of bread that has become an instantly recognised symbol of France？ At any hour of the day， on the streets of any village， town， or city， you are likely to see the French strolling along with one of these elongated2） loaves tucked under their arm. Thats because this ubiquitous3） bread can accompany their breakfast， lunch， or dinner.

The word “baguette” simply means wand4）， baton5）， or stick and refers to the shape of the bread. This term became attached to the thin， round sticks of bread we know today in the early twentieth century. But the baguettes history may go back much further.

No one knows exactly when or why this French loaf took on its current shape， but there are several stories， and even some laws that give us clues to the baguettes heritage.

One patriotic tale explains the possible origin of the baguette （but not its shape） by linking it to the French Revolution. Lack of bread was the principal complaint from the people of Paris and it played a big part in the overthrow of the monarchy. Bread was the mainstay6） of the French diet and they were tired of watching the nobility eat copious7） amounts of fine white loaves while they faced shortages and had to make do with bread that was barely edible.

So after the Revolution， making sure everyone had quality daily bread was high on the priority list. In 1793， the Convention （the post-Revolution government） made a law stating：

“Richness and poverty must both disappear from the government of equality. It will no longer make a bread of wheat for the rich and a bread of bran8） for the poor. All bakers will be held， under the penalty of imprisonment， to make only one type of bread： The Bread of Equality.”

Some might propose that since the baguette is enjoyed by rich and poor alike， it could have been this Bread of Equality. Its a charming theory and a very French idea of Liberty， Equality， and Fraternity9）， but could this law truly have created the forerunner of our beloved baguette？

Or did Napoleon Bonaparte have something to do with it？ Another story claims that Napoleon passed a law decreeing10） that bread for his soldiers should be made in long slender loaves of exact measurements to fit into a special pocket on their uniforms. Since those measurements were close to the size of a modern baguette， certain people think this might be when the bread first took on its current form. If this is true， perhaps we have Napoleon to thank for the shape of our daily baguette.

Or was it the Paris metro？ A different anecdote affirms that when the metro system was being built in Paris， the workmen from different regions just couldnt get along and the overseer of the project was concerned about violence in the dark， underground tunnels. At that time， everyone carried a knife to cut their bread， so the supervisor went to the bakery to request loaves that didnt need to be cut. A loaf of bread was regulated by weight， so in order to make it thin enough to be easily torn， it ended up being long and slender. Considering this， we might owe our beloved baguette to rowdy11） metro workmen.

Whenever and for whatever reason the first wand-shaped breads appeared， by the mid-1800s in Paris， they were everywhere. But these werent the French loaves that we see today. No， they were baguettes on steroids12）. Many foreign visitors marvelled at the extraordinary lengths of the Parisian bread they saw.

They described loaves of bread 6 feet （2 metres） long being delivered by women carrying them stacked13） horizontally， like firewood， in a frame on their backs. Housemaids were on the streets at 6：00 in the morning carrying these long loaves home for their employers breakfast. In the afternoon， young boys could be seen using these lengthy baguettes as pretend swords and engaging in mock battles before the bread made its way to the family table. One visitor remarked that in a restaurant， the baker came in and stacked loaves 6～8 feet （2～2.5 metres） long in the corner like a bundle14） of sticks. Another describes the bread having to be laid on the dining table lengthwise because it was longer than the table was wide.

Those long breads that made such an impression on nineteenth century tourists must have been the forerunner of todays more manageably sized baguette. The modern， shorter version seems to have come into being in the 1920s， when a law was passed prohibiting bakers from working between the hours of 10：00 p.m. and 4：00 a.m. The current baguette was probably developed because its thin form allowed it to cook faster. The baker could start at 4：00 in the morning and the baguettes would be finished in time for the first customers breakfast. It was during this time that the term “baguette” first became associated with the slender loaves that are seen everywhere in France today.

Bread has always been important to the French， and for centuries， it was their main food source. Today， even though bread is an accompaniment to a meal instead of the main course， it still plays an important part in French life—and the most popular bread in France is the baguette. Since there are boulangeries （bakeries） everywhere in France， theres never an excuse for not having a nice crunchy baguette with every meal. And while youre walking home nibbling15） on the end of your baguette， you can ponder the French Revolution， Napoleon， and the Paris metro … and be thankful that youre not trying to manoeuvre16） a 6-foot （2-metre） long loaf of bread down the street.

還有什么能比法棍更具法國傳統(tǒng)特色呢？這種細(xì)長的面包已經(jīng)成為一種一望即知的法國的象征。在一天中的任何時候，在任何一個鄉(xiāng)村、城鎮(zhèn)或城市的街頭，你都可能看到腋下夾著一根長條面包漫步的法國人，那是因為這種隨處可見的面包能夠作為他們一日三餐的搭檔。

“baguette”一詞的意思就是棒子、棍子或桿子，它指的是這種面包的形狀。這個詞用來指我們今天所熟悉的棍狀細(xì)圓面包是在20世紀(jì)初。不過，法棍的歷史可能還要早得多。

沒人知道到底是在何時、因何緣故這種法國面包開始形成如今的形狀，不過倒有一些故事甚至法律為我們提供了追溯法棍身世的線索。

根據(jù)一則愛國故事的解釋，法棍（而非其形狀）的起源可能跟法國大革命有關(guān)。面包短缺是巴黎當(dāng)時民怨沸騰的主要原因，在法國王室倒臺中起到了重要作用。當(dāng)時，面包是法國人的主要食物。人們厭倦了只見王公貴族享用無盡的精制白面包，而他們卻食不果腹，只能湊合吃幾乎無法下咽的面包度日。

因此，大革命之后，確保人人每天都能吃上優(yōu)質(zhì)的面包就成為重中之重。1793年，國民公會（大革命后的政府）制定了一項法律，該法律宣布：

“平等政府之下，必?zé)o貧富之別。富者食麥、貧者食麩之情形當(dāng)不復(fù)存在。所有面包師只做一種面包：平等面包。違令者處監(jiān)禁?！?/p>

有人可能會提出，既然富人和窮人都喜歡法棍，法棍可能就是這個“平等面包”。這種觀點頗具魅力，也很有“自由、平等、博愛”的法國色彩，但果真是這條法律催生出我們喜愛的法棍的前身嗎？

或者拿破侖·波拿巴跟法棍有點淵源？還有一個故事聲稱，拿破侖曾經(jīng)頒布一項法律，規(guī)定他手下的士兵所吃的面包必須做成有精確規(guī)格的細(xì)長條狀，以便放進(jìn)軍裝的一個專用口袋。由于這個規(guī)格接近如今法棍的大小，一些人認(rèn)為法棍可能就是從那時開始變成現(xiàn)在這個樣子的。如果情況屬實，或許我們還得感謝拿破侖賦予了我們每天所吃的法棍這樣的形狀。

抑或這事跟巴黎地鐵有關(guān)？另有傳聞言之鑿鑿地表示，巴黎建地鐵的時候，來自不同地區(qū)的工人彼此不和，工程的監(jiān)工擔(dān)心黑暗的地下隧道中發(fā)生暴力事件。那個年代，人人都隨身帶著一把刀用于切面包，因此監(jiān)工找到面包房，要求做出無需刀切的面包。當(dāng)時的一條面包有重量方面的規(guī)定，因此為了使面包足夠細(xì)，便于撕開，面包最后就做得又長又細(xì)。這么說來，我們喜愛的法棍或許該歸功于好斗的地鐵工人。

無論第一條棍狀面包到底何時何故出現(xiàn)，到19世紀(jì)中葉時，巴黎已到處可見它們的身影。不過，這些并不是我們今天所看到的法式長棍面包，而是加大號的法棍。當(dāng)時很多外國游客見到巴黎的這種超長面包都大為驚嘆。

他們描述道，面包有六英尺（兩米）長，運送面包的婦女背上有一個架子，面包就像柴火一樣水平疊放在架子上。清晨6點，女傭們身背這種長面包走在街上，回家給雇主們做早餐。下午，在面包端上家里的餐桌之前，能夠看見小男孩們用這種長法棍當(dāng)劍，相互打斗嬉戲。一位游客說道，在一家餐館，面包師走進(jìn)店里，將6～8英尺（2～2.5米）長的面包像一捆木棍一樣堆放在角落。還有游客描述道，由于面包比餐桌的寬度還長，所以只能縱向放在餐桌上。

令19世紀(jì)游客過目難忘的那些長面包想必就是今天大小更易攜帶的法棍的前身。當(dāng)今縮短版的法棍似乎于20世紀(jì)20年代就誕生了，當(dāng)時法國頒布了一項法律，禁止面包師在晚上10點到凌晨4點之間工作。如今這種法棍之所以出現(xiàn)，可能是因為其細(xì)細(xì)的形狀有助于加快烘焙。面包師可以清晨4點開工，在第一批客人用早餐前及時做好法棍。正是在此期間，“法棍”這個詞開始與今天在法國遍地可見的細(xì)長面包聯(lián)系起來。

面包對法國人來說一直都很重要，在過去數(shù)百年里是他們的主要食物來源。如今，面包盡管只是用于佐餐而非主菜，卻仍然在法國人的生活中扮演著重要角色—而法國最受歡迎的面包就是法棍。面包店在法國遍地都是，因此實在沒有理由每頓不來上一根松脆的法棍。當(dāng)你啃著法棍走在回家的路上，不妨懷想一下法國大革命、拿破侖、巴黎地鐵……同時應(yīng)當(dāng)慶幸你現(xiàn)在不是在街上試圖搬弄一根六英尺（兩米）長的面包。

1. baguette [b??ɡet] n. 法式長面包，（法國）棍子面包

2. elongated [?i?l???ɡe?t?d] adj. 過于細(xì)長的

3. ubiquitous [ju??b?kw?t?s] adj. 普遍存在的，無所不在的

4. wand [w?nd] n. 棒，棍，竿

5. baton [?b?t?n] n. 短棍，短棒

6. mainstay [?me?n?ste?] n. 主要依靠，主要資源，支柱

7. copious [?k??pi?s] adj. 充裕的；大量的

8. bran [br?n] n. 糠，麥麩

9. fraternity [fr??t??（r）n?ti] n. 友愛，博愛

10. decree [d??kri?] vt. 命令；頒布

11. rowdy [?ra?di] adj. 好爭吵的；喧鬧的；粗暴的

12. sth. on steroids：某物大（強(qiáng)壯、出色等）得多

13. stack [st?k] vt. 把……疊成堆

14. bundle [?b?nd（?）l] n. 捆，束，包

15. nibble [?n?b（?）l] vi. 啃；一點一點地咬（或吃）

16. manoeuvre [m??nu?v?（r）] vt. （敏捷或巧妙地）操縱，控制