“People don’t usually buy it” is a different claim to “it is totally unavailable”.

A baguette in my Midwestern city close to as good as a standard Parisian corner store baguette is like $6. You can get some that are "good" but in fact way worse than the real deal for $4-5. Approach the 2 Euro baguette in price and we're talking something that's so much worse it's unrecognizable. Pastries have a similar ~2x markup and are still usually not quite as good as the norm there even at the high end of the price range. IDK what it is that makes decent baked goods so expensive here. We grow all the wheat, FFS. Apparently kinda halfway knowing how to produce a plain-ass croissant that is somewhat reminiscent of an actual croissant is rare and expensive knowledge around here. We flat-out cannot produce affordable baked goods & bread that aren't fairly bad, it seems—simply not-bad is luxury priced here, and you may have to drive a ways to get it.

[EDIT] and this bleeds over into anything requiring bread, like a sandwich. If you buy one out and it's not quite expensive, it will for sure be using pretty bad bread and there'll be a fairly low cap on how good it might be.

[EDIT EDIT] toss in the fact that decent or better cheese is more expensive here, and the sandwich situation is downright dire.

> The majority of Americans get their bread from the grocery store, and by the time they eat it it’s probably several days if not weeks old.

Every grocery store near me has giant signs advertising fresh baked bread. Buying bread in plastic bags isn't necessary.

Heck when I was a poor college student I'd buy fresh baked 6 inch sandwich rolls, IIRC they were 6 for $2 or $3.

Is it bake-off or real bread baked at the store?

While I'm sure that depends on the store, many supermarkets I'm aware of -- including Safeway out here in Silicon Valley and Publix in Florida, where I grew up -- have in-store bakeries.

Publix is a god send. Some of their bread actually rivals non-American bread.

One of the chain supermarkets I go to has a big sign announcing the time the next batch of fresh bread will come out of the oven.

So, yes, in spite of the typical HN US-bashing, fresh bread is available in America.

This isn't even mentioning:

1. The chain of Brazilian bakeries around me

2. The fresh bread loaves baked at multiple larger Asian grocery stores.

3. The awesome Vietnamese bakery that sends out fresh baguettes daily.

4. The multiple dedicated Japanese bakeries making fresh bread.

5. The multiple dedicated Chinese bakeries making fresh loaves of bread.

6. The multiple local American bakeries that deliver fresh bread to area grocery stores every day.

Actually, after making that list, I am kind of shocked at how large the market is for fresh baked bread...

I should have been clearer, with "good bread" I meant dark whole-grained bread, not white stuff like loaf and baguettes. Sorry, just my Norwegian bubble I guess.

> I should have been clearer, with "good bread" I meant dark whole-grained bread, not white stuff like loaf and baguettes. Sorry, just my Norwegian bubble I guess.

Then I'll walk to the Eastern European deli a couple blocks from my house! Though only a small selection of their bread is freshly delivered, the better Eastern European deli near me closed quite a few years ago, they baked stuff on site.

I can get plenty of darker whole grain breads from some of the above sources I listed as well.

Though saying that French styles breads aren't good may get you in trouble with a huge swath of the world! There isn't a "quality" difference between fresh made baguettes and any other styles of bread, at that point it is down to preferences. I wouldn't call anything fresh made at a local bakery "not good bread." I may not prefer it, but that doesn't make it low quality.

Nutrition, of course, is separate discussion!

Now if you want something legit to complain about in America, talk about deli meats. Boar's Head has an almost complete monopoly over deli meats, especially on the west coast. I have to travel to, at minimum, Chicago, before the corned beef starts getting good.

Likewise with cheeses. Each major area of the country likely has a local dairy making cheese, and I used to think those cheeses were a-ok, after all, local dairy and all that. Travelling a bit made me realize how not-so-good most cheeses, outside of the artisanal ones, sold in America are.

On the flip side, ok-quality cheese also trends in price towards being dirt cheap, and "not-so-ok" quality cheese is dirt cheap.

Ah, total cultural translation fail. To me anything very "dark" is bad bread. I really enjoy the sort of "medium light in color multigrain" my local bakery makes, which includes whole grains like millet and flax, with a slightly chewy texture. Here are "good" breads from my local bakery in small town USA: clockwise from top left, semolina sunflower, multigrain, country white, and cranberry walnut. Scones, muffin, and cookie are bonus. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Prcba1K99yioxNVU9

Pumpernickel, and three types of rye are available daily. Plus random oaty things.

Remember that a huge part of the United States was settled by Germans.