Daily Bread

If you ask a Parisian where to find the best bread in Paris, he or she will likely point down the rue to the local boulangerie. Bread is such a staple of the French diet that traveling more than a few blocks for a fresh baguette is not only impractical, but borderline unpatriotic. There is, however, one exception to this rule, and that exception is named Poilâne. The near 80-year-old bakery creates some of the best bread in the world, and has the lines of customers to prove it. Not visiting is simply not an option.

Pierre Poilâne started baking bread in 1932. After World War II, when the moneyed classes were obsessing over airy white baguettes, Poilâne was perfecting his miche, a sourdough country loaf made with stone-milled grey flour and spelt. It may once have been the bread of the poor, but Poilâne’s miche (or pain Poilâne, as it’s known to everyone else) is distinctively rich: its crust is earthy and dark, and its crumb is chewy and just sour enough, perfect for a tartine or simply a slathering of good butter. It is the bread that earned the family international fame. Poilâne now bakes 15,000 loaves daily to be delivered to restaurants and shops across Paris and the rest of France and shipped via FedEx to more than 20 countries around the world.

Needless to say, Poilâne has outgrown its first shop on rue du Cherche-Midi in the Latin Quarter. Today, most of the bread is made in Bièvres — just outside Paris — at the company’s “manufactory,” so called because of a dedication to such age-old techniques as hand-shaping, even despite the pressure of worldwide demand. But stop into the original Poilâne and there are only vague hints that they’ve become a global brand; it still has a comforting old world feel. On shelves and lining the window sills you will find mostly their monogrammed miche, as well as a few types of smaller loaves, baguettes, and Poilâne’s famous Punitions butter cookies. Limited inventory is likely a product of the philosophy at the core of their business: every product they sell is made with simple ingredients, but with unparalleled craftsmanship. That is to say, nothing less than perfect is sold, and if you’re wondering if perfection actually exists, you haven’t been to Poilâne.

To extend your Poilâne experience, a few choice souvenirs:

Miche
Carting a two-kilogram loaf through customs may seem like a chore, but it’s worth it, for you will be a hero amongst hungry friends. Poilâne’s signature loaf is made of just four ingredients: sourdough, flour, water and sea salt from Guérande in Brittany. And because of its size, it keeps for a whole week. 
€9

Poilâne Bread Knife
Slicing good bread calls for a good knife, and Poilâne’s is the best. It has a 25-centimeter steel blade, a natural beechwood handle, and comes in a very chic linen bag. Take care of it and it will become a family heirloom. Also, if you weren’t planning to check luggage, you should now. €42


Ceci N’est Pas Un Livre Pour Faire du Pain
(This Is Not Another Book About Making Bread)
After her father Lionel’s tragic death in 2002, the 18-year-old Apollonia Poilâne became the company’s CEO, running the business from her Harvard dorm room and flying back to Paris every four to six weeks for meetings. Nearly ten years later, she has proven to lead with the same combination of acumen and passion as her father and her grandfather. She has now penned her first book along with Nathaly Nicolas-Ianniello, who runs the Esprit Cuisine cookery school. The collection of 44 bread-centric recipes (with photography by Philippe Vaurès Santamaria) is published in French by Les Éditions De l’Épure. €24

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