Poilâne

Poilâne opened at 8 Rue du Cherche-Midi in 1932 and has become, over more than nine decades, one of the most recognisable names in French bread, synonymous internationally with the sourdough round known as the miche Poilâne. The original shop remains in operation at the same address, distinguishing it from the bakery's other Paris and international locations, and the bread is still baked using the same traditional method: natural leaven rather than commercial yeast, stone-ground flour, and a wood-fired oven that gives the crust its distinctive dark, almost bitter char and the crumb its dense, slightly sour character. The miche is sold whole or by weight and is large enough that a single loaf can supply a household for the better part of a week, a scale reflecting its original design for family and communal consumption rather than individual servings. Founder Pierre Poilâne began the bakery, and it was his daughter Apollonia Poilâne who took over leadership after her parents' deaths in a 2002 helicopter accident, continuing the traditional methods while expanding the brand internationally without diluting the flagship's character. Beyond the miche, the shop produces a small range of pastries including a well-regarded apple tart and 'punition' butter cookies, named for their original use as a treat given to children as a reward, or rather explicitly not a punishment, in a playful piece of shop lore. The Rue du Cherche-Midi location includes visibility into part of the bakery's ovens, and lines form at peak times, particularly Saturday mornings, though the shop's relatively long opening hours make it manageable to visit outside the busiest windows. A loaf makes a genuinely practical, non-perishable souvenir of Paris, keeping well for days.