The magic of bread—flour, water, yeast, and salt transforming into something beautiful, weighty, and nourishing—meets daily ritual in France. During the pandemic lockdowns in Paris, it was a given that the boulangeries would be open: Designated an essential shop, bakeries provide something inseparable from Parisian life.
It does not take a long stretch of time in Paris to fall into the ritual. However long one’s stay, cradling a boule beneath an arm or plucking crusty ends from a warm baguette can become an extension of everyday experiences. Today in Paris, from visiting legendary bakeries for baguettes de tradition to seeking the best sourdough from recently-opened spaces, there has never been a better time to eat bread. Below, our ten picks for the best boulangeries in Paris—and what to order at each.
Ten Belles Bread
What to order: Organic sourdough
With big windows looking into the kitchen and airy storefront café, Ten Belles Bread opened by the Franco-British Ten Belles team (Alice Quillet, Anna Trattles, and Anselme Blayney), is making some of the best organic sourdough, focaccia, and rye in the city. Pick up a freshly baked, soft-crumbed, golden-crusted loaf at their boulangerie in the 11th arrondissement or, if you’re not in the area, loaves and a selection of baked goods are also available at their coffee shop in the 10th—just off the canal Saint Martin—or across the river in the 6th. (Ten Belles also serves some of the best coffee in Paris, should you care to overlap a daily bread run with your daily caffeine fix.)
The French Bastards
What to Order: Baguette bâtarde
Opened in 2019 by childhood friends Julien Abourmand, Emmanuel Gunther, and David Abehsera, the counters and concrete walls of The French Bastards overflow with choice. If you must choose only one bread, make it the namesake baguette bâtard (bastard). A classic French bread, bâtards are shorter and wider than a traditional baguette, coming out somewhere in size between the baguette and a loaf of bread. The French Bastards offers two first-rate options: standard and seeded. But best of luck getting out of the shop without also snagging a piece of focaccia spiced with piment d’espelette, a tarte citron or, an impossibly flaky (impossibly named) cruffin.
Mamiche
What to order: Miche mamiche
Victoria Effantin and Cécile Khayat opened Mamiche (literally, “my loaf” in French) in the 9th arrondissement in 2017 and another location in the 10th in 2019, and the lines—for morning loaves, lunchtime sandwiches, afternoon goûter, and evening baguettes—never seem to shrink. Get the signature miche mamiche, a big, crusty, golden feast of a loaf dusted with a shaggy flour “M” and while you’re there you may as well also take a generous slice of babka, a ham and cheese roulé, and pretty much whatever else catches your eye.
Shinya Pain
What to order: Pain noir
The menu of five to seven types of bread changes daily at Shinya Pain depending on the type of flour varieties owner Shinya Inagaki decides to use. You can’t go wrong—nor will the menu be the same the next day or week—but the Pain Noir, the pain de méteil au sésame, and the brioche paysanne were recent standouts. The small storefront on the quiet rue des Trois Frères in Montmartre is open only in the afternoons Thursday through Sunday. Make it a stop after a stair-climbing visit to nearby Sacré-Cœur basilica and snag a sourdough cookie or a savory scone for the walk home.
Du Pain et des Idées
What to order: Pain des amis (& pavés filled with lardon and prunes)
Be prepared to stand in line at neighborhood fixture and well-documented tourist destination, Du Pain et des Idées near the Canal Saint Martin. With a traditional storefront, hand-painted ceiling dating to 1875, and gilded mirrors, Christophe Vasseur’s bakery is beautiful. Just as beautiful to behold—and eat—are the long, flat, crisp-crusted pain des amis or “bread of friends” sold by the quarter, half, or loaf. If you have room, snag a few of the mini-pavés (small rolls stuffed with savory combinations) sold in the afternoons at the counter right next to the cash register—the pruneaux (prune) and lardons fermiers (farmer’s) are particularly special. If you opt for something sweet, skip the highly-Instagrammed escargot pastries and ask for the sacristain—an impeccable twist of flaky pastry, caramelized sugar, and pastry cream.
Poilâne
What to order: Signature sourdough loaf
If bread is holy in Paris then Poilâne is surely a temple. The world-famous, third generation-owned bakery opened in 1932, has locations in Paris and London, and ships loaves internationally. But walking into the flagship location at 8 rue du Cherche Midi in the city’s 6th arrondissement immediately takes you back in time. Get a full round of wood-fired oven-baked, slightly acidic, signature sourdough hand-inscribed with the signature “P”— or if you’re not feeling ambitious enough for the 4-ish pound loaf, ask for a half, a quarter, or even two slices. While checking out, add a bag of punitions (sablé cookies) and peek into the small room behind the cash register for a glimpse at the famed bread chandelier designed by Salvador Dali and walls covered in paintings of Poilâne’s signature loaf—which used to be accepted as payment for actual loaves.
Le Petite Grain
What to order: Multigrain
Le Petit Grain—a stone’s throw from restaurant Le Grand Bain in Belleville and also owned by chef Edward Delling-Williams—opened in 2018, using organic flours for the breads and pastries. The multigrain loaf in particular is a revelation, and should you also be craving something sweet but not too sweet, get the sesame kouign-amann, an earthy take on the rich, buttery Breton specialty.
Boulangerie Utopie
What to order: Baguette de tradition
On weekends, the line of regulars here often spills out the door and around the 11th arrondissement block, but the wait is well-worth it for the lineup of classic and inventive breads and pastries. Try one of their more creative endeavors—activated charcoal baguette, black sesame roulé, or any of their pain du weekend (weekend-specific breads revealed weekly on Instagram), for example—but be sure to also grab a baguette de tradition.
Babka Zana
What to order: Hallah
Set on rue Condorcet in Pigalle, Babka Zana makes, as the name suggests, babka. Owners Sarah Amouyal and Emmanuel Murat opened the bakery in January 2020 and offer their namesake in several forms—roll, cake, and pie—as well as flavors including pistachio-orange blossom and a chocolate-hazelnut that employs a rich pâte à tartiner from the oldest chocolatier in Paris, La Mère de Famille. But the sleeper hit at Babka Zana is the tender, braided Hallah. Buy your loaf, then linger a bit outside the bakery’s large window to watch bakers knead, shape, roll, braid, and bake all day long.
Chambelland
What to order: Le pain aux cinq grains
A sleek, recently-expanded, entirely wheat-free bakery, Chambelland makes some of the best gluten-free, certified organic, fermented with natural yeast breads (and sweets including cookies, tarts, chouquettes, and eclairs) in the city. Made without preservatives or gums, the square pain aux cinq grains, or five-grain loaf, topped with sesame, sunflower, poppy, and toasted flax seeds is truly excellent as is the pissaladière, a savory combination of caramelized onions and anchovies on olive focaccia. Should you be in need of a gluten-free special occasion cake, Chambelland is the place (but be sure to order in advance).
