Behind the scenes at Poilâne bakery | Ann Mah
Forget the baguette. It’s a modern invention that traditionalists scoff at. No, France’s ancient bread is a large, round, sourdough boule. And perhaps Paris’s most famous traditional bakery is Poilâne, the legendary shop with a tragic family history, whose master bakers still create each sturdy, slightly tart loaf by hand. On a recent morning, I was lucky enough to go behind the scenes at Poilâne, visiting their tiny furnace of a kitchen, and learning a lot about bread — the stuff of life — in the process.
