Did you French bread was long ago exported in Mexico and adopted by other Latin countries?
Baguette and other varieties of French bread is not only found in France! Mexico when shortly invaded by my French ancestors inherited to some of our culture and customs still widely spread over the country and cherished by the local middle and upper class native Mexicans! The French invasion also known as the Maximilian Affair and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion by the army of the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by the British and Spanish. Its causes were President Benito Juárez's suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered Mexico's major creditors Spain, France and Great Britain. Despite this long forgotten political and diplomatic hitch, many Mexican men and women have a positive and glorified view of France! They tell me, we learn English for business and job opportunities and French for pleasure and social status. Food as well is still appreciated as the bread produce is present in their daily life. Baguette and "bolillo" can be bought at the local supermarket and the latest even in neighborhood private tiny convenient store!
"Bolillo" is a type of salty bread traditionally made in Mexico, El Salvador, Portugal, and Brazil. In Brazil it is known as pão francês (French bread) or pão de sal (salt bread). It is considered a variation of the baguette. In some places of Mexico, it is also known as "pan de agua" (water bread) as it is in France with "petit pain à l'eau" (small water bread).
It is about 15 cm (six inches) long, in the shape of an oval, with a crunchy crust and a soft inside, known as migajón. It is the main ingredient for the "tortas" (hot sandwitch with grilled meat usually beef or marinated pork with powdered and fresh chilis) and the "molletes" (found in Spain served with oil or pork lard and southern Mexico served with fried beans and melted cheese). A variation of the "bolillo" is the "telera", which is very similar, though it has a rounder shape, is divided in three sections and is often a bit softer.
