Paris's most famous bakery, operating from a shopfront on Rue du Cherche-Midi since 1932 where three generations of the Poilâne family have baked the miche — a two-kilogram sourdough loaf with a dark, crackled crust and a dense, tangy crumb — in wood-fired ovens in the basement. The miche is not merely bread; it is an argument about what bread should be, and it has been winning that argument for nearly a century. Pierre Poilâne founded the bakery, his son Lionel transformed it into an international institution, and Apollonia Poilâne — who took over at eighteen after her parents' death in a helicopter accident — has maintained and expanded the legacy with quiet determination. The punitions — small, round butter cookies that look simple and taste like the concentrated essence of French baking — are the other essential purchase, addictive in the way that only something made from butter, sugar, and precision can be. The wood-fired ovens in the basement have been burning since the shop opened, and the bread that emerges carries the particular flavour of nearly a century of continuous baking.
Location
Saint-Germain, Paris
Map
Insider Intel
The miche — the giant sourdough loaf that made the bakery famous. Even if you cannot eat two kilograms of bread, a half-miche or a quarter is available and the experience of tasting bread that has been refined over three generations is worth the purchase. The punitions (butter cookies) are mandatory — buy a bag and try not to finish them before you reach the métro. Tartines (open-faced sandwiches on Poilâne bread) are available at the tiny counter for an immediate lunch. The apple tart, made with Poilâne bread as the base, is a sleeper favourite.
Morning for the freshest bread — the ovens run through the night and the first loaves are available early. Lunchtime for a tartine at the counter if you want to eat on the premises. The Rue du Cherche-Midi location is walking distance from the Luxembourg Gardens, Le Bon Marché, and the Saint-Germain gallery scene, all of which provide context for a bread-fuelled morning.
Third-generation family bakery — Apollonia Poilâne runs it now. The wood-fired ovens in the basement have been burning since 1932. The miche ships worldwide, but tastes best fresh from this shop. The punition cookies are dangerously addictive — budget accordingly. The tiny counter offers tartines for lunch. Sèvres-Babylone métro is nearby. Prices: miche approximately €10, punitions €8 per bag. The Rue du Cherche-Midi shopfront is modest — do not expect a grand entrance. The bread is the grand entrance.