Where to find - The BEST bread in Paris!!

One of my favorite bakeries in Paris is Poilane. It is a world famous. It happened to be located right around the corner from our apartment in Saint-Germain-des-Pres and we would go there in the early morning hours, shortly after they opened, to get the very best breads, ever! So yummy! 

Lionel Poilâne was born June 10, 1945 and was a French boulanger (artisan baker) and entrepreneur whose commitment to crafting quality bread earned him prestige throughout the world.

His father Pierre Poilâne started a baking business in 1932, creating bread using stone-ground flour, natural fermentation and a wood-fired oven. Lionel took over the bakery in 1970, continuing the traditional methods.

Pain Poilâne is produced in the Latin Quarter of Paris where it is sold at the original boulangerie on rue du Cherche-Midi. A second Paris bakery on boulevard de Grenelle is located in Saint Germain des Pres. 

The worldwide demand for Poilâne bread is met in a facility located in Bièvres[disambiguation needed] which was built in the 1980s. The Bièvres bakery produces around 15,000 loaves per day in 24 wood-burning ovens which are exact replicas of the ovens used at the Paris locations. These loaves are shipped worldwide. The firm opened a facility in London's Belgravia district in June 2000.

On October 31, 2002, Lionel Poilâne was killed when the helicopter he was piloting crashed into the Bay of Cancale off the coast of Brittany. The passengers, Poilâne's wife Iréna and their dog, also died in the crash. Poilâne was survived by his daughter Apollonia who now runs the enterprise. She is a graduate of Harvard University

Here's a video from CBS Sunday Morning
The history of Poilane