Bread passes through different states during baking: the dough turns into crumb and then into crust, heat and mass transfers cause different phenomena to occur inside the product (mass loss, temperature increase, CO2 production, gelatinization, swelling, etc.). This study is devoted to "French baguette" contact baking. The product is subjected to heat by conduction, natural convection and infrared radiation. A numerical model was developed using the finite element method. This model allows predicting evolutions of temperature, water content, gas pressure and deformation. Local porosity and gas fraction are also calculated. An experimental approach was implemented in order to compare numerical results and experimental evolutions (temperature and mass loss). Experimental boundary conditions were used for the simulations while the properties of the product were taken from the literature. Sensitivity studies of the mechanical properties, model parameters, and water activity parameters were performed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.