Different Kinds of Popular French Breads

Bonjour, bakers! 

If you’re looking to up your bread-making game and join the ranks of the finest boulangers in town, then you’ve got to do it like the pros. 

As in, you gotta channel your inner Francophile and get to baking some bread. 

France is known for its cooking and baking, from pastries to desserts to delicate dishes and more. One thing that you’re sure to find all over the country and at every level of society is a good bakery with some truly astounding breads. And not just baguettes, either — there’s so much more to French breads than the wildly popular baguette.

To get you started, here are a few popular kinds of French breads that are staples of every Franc’s diet. All you need is flour, water, salt and yeast and you’re already halfway there, so give them a go!

13 kinds of French breads

Baguette

We’re all familiar with this popular bread! Long, thin and usually sporting a thick, crunchy crust, the baguette is the epitome of French pâtisserie. The recipe is simple: wheat flour, yeast, water and salt, with some varieties containing a small percentage of fava bean flour or soya flour for an extra bit of protein.

Boule de pain

This term refers more to a shape of bread, rather than a specific recipe. Essentially, a boule de pain is a round ball of bread that is usually sold whole (boule means “ball” and pain means “bread”). The bread can be made from a variety of ingredients and leavening techniques to include sourdough, instant breads and regular wheat breads.

Brioche

Brioche is a sweeter bread that features high quantities of egg and butter. This gives the baked crumb a tight structure while the butter makes it flaky and the eggs make it light and fluffy. Brioche bread can be woven and braided to make intricate shapes, as the fluffy interior keeps the bread from becoming too dense even when folded over each other.

Croissant

Named after the French world for “crescent,” the iconic croissant is more of a pastry than a bread. The delicate, flaky traits are made using a type of puff pastry which features dozens of thin layers of butter sandwiched between layers of dough. As the bread bakes, the butter melts and the dough hardens, leaving pockets of air between the baked bread layers. This gives croissants that characteristic golden, buttery, flaky goodness that’s just magnifique. *chef’s kiss*

Faluche

Traditionally from the Alsace region of France, the faluche flatbread is often baked with poppy seeds or sesame seeds sprinkled on top. It’s a popular grab-and-go bread since it’s light, sturdy and goes well with the other two French staples: cheese and wine.

Ficelle

This popular loaf is long and thin, which is where it gets its name — ficelle or “string.” It actually resembles a baguette in nearly every way except for its shape, which is much narrower and, therefore, a little lighter of a meal. 

Fougasse

This bread is a showstopper, for sure, as it’s served as a decorative piece as much as an edible one. 

Baked almost like a flatbread, bakers cut slices through fougasse dough before baking to create patterns and holes in the herb-filled bread. Usually the patterns create leaf shapes, but the sky’s the limit!

Pain au chocolat

Imagine a croissant pastry with a warm, rich, chocolaty center and you’ve got a pain au chocolat! This flaky, buttery treat is a common sight in bakeries all over the country, and it’s a must-have with a good cup of tea or coffee.

Pain aux noix

This lesser-known French bread is named for the addition of nuts (“noix”) in the whole wheat dough. They’re usually walnuts, but a variety of nuts could be used to the baker’s liking. The final product is a slightly sweet, crunchy and 100% delicious pain au noix country loaf.

Pain brié 

A traditional loaf from the region of Normandy, pain brié is instantly recognizable by its deep slashes along its top. 

Despite the name, this bread doesn’t have any cheese in it. The word brié comes from the word meaning “to pound” in Old Norman, and since this particular recipe requires a long kneading period and creates a tough, tight crumb, the name fits perfectly.

Pain couronne

Couronne means “crown” in French, and this rustic sourdough loaf certainly is fit for a king.

Made with wheat flour, oat flour or other rustic flours, pain couronne is shaped like a ring and often used as a centerpiece during holidays and gatherings. 

Pain de campagne

We all love a good ol’ country loaf — and that’s exactly what a pain de campagne is!

Campagne means “country” and this loaf is as country as they come. Made with sourdough starter, rye flour and whole wheat flour, this dense, slightly sour bread is perfect for farmhouse sandwiches with some homemade cheese, some cold cuts and a glass of French wine, 

Pain d’épices 

Translated to “spice bread,” this aptly-named pastry bread is packed with warm spices like cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and allspice — a flavor not unlike gingerbread! The actual pastry itself, though, is more of a loaf than a cookie and is served in slices.

The great thing about baking bread is that although it is something you can become a pro at, it’s still a very accessible way to experiment with new recipes. There’s not too much to it and not too many steps to mess up, so there’s quite literally nothing standing in your way of a good ol’ pain noix or classic baguette. 

Bon appetit!

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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/jackmac34