You see, according to every picture I have just looked at, it is certain that the bread used for the Khao jee pâté baguette is low-quality. Trust me, this is not even remotely close to the bread you would get in a real French bakery.

As I said, maybe you are right. I am not an expert on Laos, though I have been there several times. I would have to see and taste it myself to confirm it, as the bread I saw in places like Savannakhet, though better than in Thailand, was not fantastic (it's possible that I didn't go to the right places). I have often heard non-French people claiming they knew about wine, cheese or bread/pâtisseries when it turned out that it was not even remotely the case, so you'll have to excuse my chauvinistic scepticism .

I would say you are very wrong. I've driven all over Laos I even worked there for a while - If you haven't eaten a Khao jee pâté baguette for breakfast, you haven't lived. When the French took over Laos they employed the Vietnamese to run the boulangerie/patisseries and when the French ran away, the Vietnamese stayed so production continued almost uninterrupted. The climate doesn't present a problem - there are areas in Laos that are very mountainous, and have a totally different climate to Thailand - they also have an abundance of water. Another feature of Laos is they have a much bigger indigenous dairy industry and grow coffee. I first drove into Vientiane in 2008 and my "co-driver" rewarded me with a coffee and baguette at a back street cafe - I used to work in Frnce years ago but had almost given up on coffee until I took my fist sip in that Laos cafe - it sent me back to France in the 1970s - total flashback. Evey morning on my way to work in Laos I would get a Khao Jee for breakfast - every market in th morning is full of row up[on row of baguettes.

Perhaps that is true. For historical reasons, it makes sense that there would be more know-how there, though I have not experienced it myself when I went to Laos. I would argue that the climate itself makes it virtually impossible to achieve the standard one gets in France (too humid), but I may be wrong.

Unless you go to Laos where you can eat delicious baguettes and REAL French-style coffee .... and patisseries!