Best Baguette 2018 – Just Call me a Bread Snob!

The Best Baguette 2018 competition was held in early April and everyone who is anyone on the internet has written about the winner and those boulangeries listed in the top 10. Here I am, almost 4 months out from the competition, and I’m just now thinking about it.

I am a bread aficiondo and love baking it but there was a time when I thought “a baguette is a baguette” as long as its made in France. After several extended stays in Angers buying that daily baguette, I realized that there can be a considerable difference from one baker to the next.  And….I realized I had turned in to the ultimate bread snob.

Best Baguette 2018 Criteria

There is a difference from one boulangerie to the next. In the Meilleur Baguette competition, baguettes are judged on texture (crumb), crispy flaky exterior, distinctive flavor  and the smell of the wheat. Even not meeting the length criteria disqualifies and entry.

The winner also receives the honor of supplying the President of France with bread for the year. In addition,  the winner receives a monetary prize.

M’Seddi Boulangerie – Best Baguette 2018

So why am I getting so excited about the best baguette in Paris three months after the competition is over? In past years,  the number 1 boulangerie winner has tended to be far from the center of Paris. However, this year, the winning boulanger has a bakery near Gare Montparnasse and Luxembourg Gardens. And by an incredible act of fate, our rental apartment is locate literally next door to this boulangerie!

The thought of enjoying the best baguette in Paris every morning with my tea and confiture just became a dream come true. Being able to run downstairs every morning for the best baguette in Paris is almost too good to believe to be true.

Well, this dream did turn out to be too good to be true. We arrived 28 July, the very day the bakery took its annual vacation leave. Disappointment ruled my tired being for the evening but the next day we began our search for a suitable substitute as we cannot be in France without having a baguette on a daily basis!

Your Boulangerie will be closed from Saturday 28 July until Sunday 26 August (Reopens Monday 27 August) Have a good vacation!

Best Baguette Competition

The boulangers who competed submitted 181 baguettes for the Best Baguette 2018 competition and only 138 met all the required criteria. It took 15 judges 4 hours to decided the Mahmoud M’Seddi was the top boulanger. Of those 15 judges, one was last year’s contest winner. M’Seddi Boulangerie is located at 215 Blvd Raspail.

To be completely fair, all of the boulangeries that make it to the top 10 every year are amazing. Only someone trained to judge the results could discern the difference in the baguettes.  In addition, I believe that all the other breads and pastries of these winners are a cut above the norm.

Best Baguette 2018 – Where to find the Top 10