French bakers make world's longest baguette, beating Italy

Joanne Brent, adjudicator of the Guinness World Records stands near the baguette during her inspection of 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

French bakers cooked the world's longest baguette on Sunday at 140.53 metres (461 ft), 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 metres was baked in the Italian city of Como in June 2019.

To better that, the French bakers began kneading and shaping the dough at 3am 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 cm 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 grammes, according to the official regulation.