Fresh baguette with a crunchy crust, soft inside . . flaky croissant, warm from the oven, dripping in butter . . toasted brioche with foie gras, course salt and a teaspoon of fig jam . . mouth-melting creamy macarons . . hmmm – just musing aloud about the wonders of French baking.
Bread is a staple of most meals in France. People in France eat a lot of bread, especially for breakfast (tartine – baguette with jam, or croissant), also lunch (the baguette again, this time with ham and cheese, tuna or chicken salad) and even dinner, as a side serving to basically every meal. And why not? Because really, nothing in the world tastes better than French bread and pastries. And they’re easy to find. Bakeries often sell, besides bread, all kinds of pastries, cookies, cakes, little yummy biscuits and so on.
As I’m writing this I am enjoying a still warm croissant with homemade raspberry jam (although not homemade by me but our far more domesticated neighbour) with a very un-French bowl of coffee for breakfast. Bakers do good business here in France. We have three bakeries – boulangerie/patisserie – here in the nearby village and at each one customers were spilling out on the sidewalk this morning. Which leads me to my first tip for visiting a French bakery.
1 Lines are well-observed and strictly adhered to. Do not walk up to the counter and wait your turn there, but file in behind the last client, even if that means waiting outside – especially common in Paris where there are often ridiculously long lines in front of bakeries at key hours in the morning and at lunchtime.
When entering the bakery:
2 Use proper etiquette and be prepared to know what you are looking for – don’t expect much advise from the person behind the counter, especially if it’s busy or if you ask in English/any other language than French. It is customary to greet shopkeepers and other customers when entering a shop with “Messieurs, ‘dames” for mixed company or a more general “Bonjour‘ (I’d go with that) and don’t forget a measured ‘au revoir‘ when leaving. That way the next time you go to this place, you might get a hint of a smile from the person wrapping up your goodies. I figured that out waaay too late, after a year of silent shopping (mornings are not my strong point) in my local boulangerie/patisserie/delicatessen around the corner from where I lived in Paris, when it finally dawned on me that the lady propriétaire with her nose in the air, who never spoke more than the absolutely necessary words – basically the amount I had to pay – actually thought that I was the rude one.
Just remember not to overdo it. French people are quite allergic to random kindness from strangers. If you pass another customer to look at the goodies on display to make your choice before it is your turn be sure to offer a serious but quiet ‘pardon’ with the emphasis on ‘..don‘ even if they have been blocking your view for ages with excessive handbags and hairdos à la Patsy from AbFab.
When you’ve made it to the til it gets more complicated because you are spoilt for choice. French bakeries in general have an amazing array of lovely pastries, tarts, and many different types of bread besides the traditional baguette.
3 Be well-informed to make a sound choice: The baguette is a no-brainer. Yes there are other types of bread here, but when in France . . etc. The classic croissant is always good, but just as tasty is its variant ‘Pain au chocolat‘ – the chocolate croissant- or the pain aux raisins, galette des rois, palmier, madeleine, financier, cannelé, éclair chocolat, crepe sucre, chouquette au sucre, tarte tatin, as are the great classics such as Paris-Brest, mille-feuille, macarons. Got it?
Most boulangeries also sell prepared sandwiches; foot long baguettes with sausage, ham, cheese, chicken and tuna salad, as well as delicatessen food such as small quiches, the iconic croque monsieur (a ham, cheese and bechamel sauce toasted sandwich), soups and my personal favourite – which brings me to my final tip:
4 And finally: The MUST-TRY hyper-French ‘Bouchée a la Reine’ (loosely translated into Queen’s Bite/Mouthful); a crisp puff pastry cup traditionally (but nowadays also made with seafood etc.) filled to the brim with a creamy ragout of diced chicken and mushrooms and topped with a cute little pastry hat. Warm up and enjoy; if well made, this savoury treat is to die for!
