PARIS -- The United States' bread-baking skills were crowned superior to those of France and the rest of the world the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, the World Cup of Baking, held in Paris, France.

The 2005 U.S. Bread Bakers Guild team was coached by Didier Rosada and included Jeffrey Yankellow, both of the San Francisco Baking Institute. They beat 11 other countries' teams to win the competition, the Bread Bakers Guild of America reported today.

"We knew something good was going to happen," Evelyn Suas, co-founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute, said today. Before the competition, the U.S. team trained at the San Francisco facility.

In addition to the San Francisco-based team members, Craig Ponsford of Napa represented the United States on the jury.

France came in second place and Japan, last year's winner, received third. The two countries often are the Americans' strongest competition, according to Suas.

The American team received an outstanding rating for all three categories of the competition: baguettes and specialty breads; viennoiserie, including pastries and savory sandwiches; and artistic design, the guild reported.

America's entry for the artistic category was a bread sculpture including Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty with a flaming torch of wheat. The edible coup de grace was a rusty-red Golden Gate Bridge, colored using paprika, with small savory rolls playing the role of automobiles.

Ingredients for the artistic design category must be edible, but not delicious, according to Brian Wood, a baking instructor at the institute. The designers often use "dead dough," dough without yeast, because dough that does not rise is easier to sculpt, Wood explained.

The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie is held every three years. The 12 teams, who must use the same flour and yeast, have eight hours to complete their culinary chefs d'oeuvre.