Boulangerie Poilâne

The food at Boulangerie Poilâne represents French artisan baking at its most authentic and uncompromising. Every product reflects a philosophy established by founder Pierre Poilâne and maintained through three generations: use the finest ingredients, respect traditional techniques, and never compromise quality for convenience or profit.

The undisputed star is the Miche Poilâne®, a sourdough bread that has achieved iconic status in the culinary world. This substantial round loaf, weighing approximately two kilograms, is crafted from just four ingredients: stone-ground wheat flour, natural sourdough starter, Guérande sea salt, and filtered water. The dough ferments slowly, developing complex flavors before being shaped by hand and baked for over an hour in wood-fired ovens that have been in continuous use for decades. The result is a bread with a thick, deeply caramelized crust that crackles when you break it, revealing a dense, slightly tangy crumb with a subtle nuttiness from the stone-ground flour. The bread keeps exceptionally well, actually improving over several days as the flavors develop and deepen. It's equally delicious fresh from the oven, toasted, or used as the base for tartines with butter, cheese, or charcuterie.

The Pain de Seigle offers a different but equally compelling experience. This rye bread has a slightly sweeter, more delicate flavor profile than the miche, with a finer crumb structure that makes it perfect for sandwiches or serving alongside smoked fish and pickled vegetables. Like all Poilâne breads, it's made with natural sourdough starter and baked in wood-fired ovens, ensuring the same depth of flavor and keeping quality.

The viennoiserie selection showcases classic French technique executed to perfection. Croissants, available from €1.40, feature the ideal balance of buttery richness and delicate, shattering layers that define this quintessential French pastry. Each one is hand-shaped and laminated with premium butter, creating the honeycomb interior structure and golden, crispy exterior that croissant lovers seek. The pain aux raisins offers a slightly sweeter option, with spirals of buttery dough studded with plump raisins and finished with a light glaze.

The chaussons aux pommes deserve special attention as one of the bakery's signature items. These apple turnovers feature a remarkably flaky puff pastry encasing a generous filling of cooked apples that retain their texture and natural sweetness without becoming overly sugary. The pastry shatters at first bite, giving way to the warm, spiced apple filling—a perfect balance of textures and flavors that exemplifies French pastry craftsmanship.

Traditional French pastries round out the offering, including tarte aux pommes with its precise arrangement of thinly sliced apples atop a buttery crust, flan parisien with its creamy, vanilla-scented custard and caramelized top, and seasonal fruit tarts that showcase the best produce available. Each pastry demonstrates the same attention to detail and quality ingredients that define the bread program.

The Sablés Punitions® represent Poilâne's approach to simplicity and quality in cookie form. These butter shortbread cookies contain just four ingredients—butter, flour, sugar, and salt—yet achieve a depth of flavor and perfect texture that has made them cult favorites. The cookies are crisp yet tender, with a pure butter flavor that's enhanced by a subtle saltiness. They're addictive in their simplicity, proving that exceptional ingredients and proper technique need no embellishment.

Beyond the core baking program, Poilâne offers carefully selected épicerie items that complement their breads and pastries. You can purchase their stone-ground flour to attempt your own baking at home, along with other quality pantry staples that meet their exacting standards. The bakery also creates special gift baskets and coffrets that allow you to share a curated selection of their products, beautifully packaged for any occasion.

What unites all of Poilâne's offerings is an unwavering commitment to traditional methods and quality ingredients. There are no shortcuts, no industrial processes, no compromises. Each product is made by hand, using techniques that have been refined over decades, resulting in baked goods that taste distinctly different from mass-produced alternatives. This is food that connects you to centuries of French baking tradition, offering flavors and textures that simply cannot be replicated by modern industrial methods.