The latest trend in bread is old-fashioned (pain à l'ancienne) which uses a blend of flours and is made by hand. You can now find wonderful naturally made bread at most of the outdoor markets. There are also more and more local bakeries ("boulangeries")that excel in old style bread in contrast to the industrially produced bread found in the supermarkets. The industrial bread is cheaper, but it cannot compare with the handmade. (I hate to admit it, but sometimes you get what you pay for.)

It can be a little confusing in the bakery because there are a lot of different breads and each bakery is different. In general, the standard bread is the baguette, the famous long and thin bread with a golden crust. You can buy a "demie baguette" or half a baguette if you want.

Some bakeries also sell a flûte which is a smaller, thinner version of the baguette usually made in the old-fashioned way and entirely by hand. You can tell hand made bread because the air holes are uneven and the texture is spongy, but firm at the same time.

All bakeries have "pain de compagne" or country bread, which can range from regular bread dough liberally sprinkled with flour on top, to the use of whole grain flour mixes including rye. A rye bread is a "pain de seigle" and all-grain bread is a "pain au céréale." "Pain au levain" is a sort of sourdough bread. Loaves of bread can be sliced, but you have to pay a little more, and, don't expect a bag, either plastic or paper. The bread is usually wrapped in thin waxed paper which is then twisted.

Here is just selection of some of the exceptional bakeries you can find all over Paris.

AUTHENTIC OLD-FASHIONED BREAD
POILANE
8 rue du Cherche Midi, 6th arrondissement
Métro Sèvres-Babylone
Open Monday to Saturday 7:15 to 8:15
Tel: 01 45 48 42 59

Poilâne was actually one of the first to recreate old-fashioned bread in the 50's. The bread here is whole grain and heavy, baked in enormous rounds in a wood fired oven. You can buy a half or quarter if you want. The current master baker is the son of the founder.

Other location:
49 boulevard de Grenelle, 15th arrondissement,
Métro Dupleix,
Tel: 01 45 79 11 49,
open Tuesday to Sunday 8 to 8.

THE BEST BREAD IN PARIS
GANACHAUD
150 rue de Menilmontant, 20th arrondissement
Métro Menilmontant & Bus 96 to Menilmontant-Pelleport stop
Open Wednesday to Saturday 7:30 to 8, Tuesday 2:30 to 8 & Sunday 7:30 to 1
Tel: 01 46 36 13 82

Mr. Ganachaud, Master Baker, created the flûte Gana in the 60's based on a recipe from the turn of the century. It is indeed one of the best, if not the best breads in Paris. The question is whether you want to come all the way out to this store to get it. Warning: this bakery is in the outskirts of Paris far from any convenient Métro (plus you have a substantial walk up hill or you have to wait for a bus) and it is not cheap -- for food fanatics only. Mr. Ganachaud is retired now and trains other bakers in his technique. I have listed three of them below.

Other locations:
STEFF LE BOULANGER, 123 rue Mouffetard, 5th arrondissement
Métro Place Monge or Censier Daubenton, Open Tuesday to Sunday 7 to 8, Tel: 01 47 07 35 96
STEFF LE BOULANGER, 54 rue de Sèvres, 7th arrondissement
Métro Vaneau, Open Monday to Friday 7 am to 8:30, Saturday 7 to 8, Tel: 01 47 83 97 12
BOULANGERIE LUPO, 59 rue d'Orsel, 18th arrondissement
Métro Pigalle or Anvers, Open Tuesday to Saturday 6:45 am to 8:15, Sunday 6:45 to 12:30, Tel: 01 42 23 62 81 (you can see the baker at work behind a glass window)

This article is based on excerpts from Jeanne Feldman's shopping guide "Best Buys and Bargains in Paris." For more bakeries and listings of many other stores, you can order the book from Barnes & Noble and other bookstores, bn.com, amazon.com and amazon.fr.