The Law Against Faking a Baguette

France takes its culinary heritage so seriously that it passed the Décret Pain (Bread Decree) in 1993. This strict law dictates exactly what can be called a traditional French baguette (baguette de tradition française). By law, it can only contain four ingredients: wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt. It is strictly illegal to add any preservatives, chemicals, or to freeze the dough at any point in the baking process, ensuring industrial bakeries cannot fake the real thing.