Ficelle means ‘string’, and it’s generally the thinnest loaf you can buy in the boulangerie, short of a breadstick (gressin). The rules say they should weigh 200gr. They are often used for a jambon-beurre sandwich.
In some parts of France, however, they are shorter and stumpier.
A ficelle picarde on the other hand is a pancake dish invented by Chef Marcel Lefevre at an exhibition in Amiens in the 1950s. It’s a baked pancake, stuffed with mushrooms, ham and cream or béchamel sauce.
Images by Monica Arellano-Ongpin, Nono64