13 Types of French Bread

Whether as the base of an open-faced tartine, served for breakfast with a steaming cup of café au lait, or enjoyed alongside a parkside spread of cheese and charcuterie, there’s a French loaf that’s perfect for the occasion:

1. 1. Baguette: The French baguette is among the most popular types of bread in French cuisine, known for its crackly, crispy crust and pillowy chew. The 26-inch long thin loaf first came into vogue in the late 1800s, and was officially defined by price, weight, and length by 1920. And the standard baguette is only the beginning: For sandwiches, there’s the demi-baguette or half baguette; the ficelle, or “string,” shaped extra thin; and the bâtard, a broader, more oblong loaf.
2. 2. Boule de pain: This traditional round loaf with a signature ball shape is made from four simple ingredients: water, bread flour, a leavening agent (baker’s yeast), and salt. Boule, French for ball, is a crusty bread that you can dip in olive oil for an appetizer or serve alongside various meats and cheeses.
3. 3. Brioche: Rich brioche is a boulangerie staple—one of the few products you’ll find in both French bakeries and patisseries. Made with 100 percent white flour, eggs, butter, and a little sugar, this sweet bread isn’t complicated to make, but it does require periods of long, gentle kneading due to its high-fat content. It’s worth the effort—the result is a rich and airy bread with a tight crumb that begs to be dunked in hot chocolate.
4. 4. Croissant: This traditional breakfast staple pulls double duty as a pastry and bread. Known for its crescent shape and buttery hue, the croissant is a flexible bread option that you can pair with savory meats and cheeses or sweets like jam and chocolate.
5. 5. Fougasse: Fougasse, a flatbread-style bread recognizable by its distinctive slashes meant to evoke an ear of wheat, is most associated with Provence, France. A relative of Italian focaccia, fougasse sometimes features savory ingredients like olives, anchovies, cheese, and garlic.
6. 6. Pain aux noix: This whole-grain nut loaf is made with brown sugar, walnuts, warm milk, and wheat flour, which combine to create an array of complex flavors and textures. Pain aux noix pairs well with soft cheeses and spreads like jam or jelly.
7. 7. Pain brié: Pain brié is a traditional French bread from Normandy with distinctive, conche-esque stripes and a warm, buttery hue. Thanks to a long kneading process, pain brié is a fairly dense loaf with a tight crumb.
8. 8. Pain complet: Pain complet is a whole wheat bread loaf with a tight, moist crumb. This chewy brown bread usually features white flour in its blends; pain intégral, a similar style of bread, is made with 100 percent whole wheat flour.
9. 9. Pain couronne: Pain couronne, French for bread crown, gets its name from its unique crown shape. The soft bread is comprised of small rolls of sourdough that are easy to tear off and enjoy with soups, cheeses, or sweet spreads.
10. 10. Pain d’épices: This quick bread is made from rye flour, honey, and warm spices like cinnamon. French for spice bread, pain d’épices is a cross between a cake and a bread, commonly served as an accompaniment to foie gras, fresh cheeses, and confits.
11. 11. Pain de campagne: A rustic, hearty country bread made with a sourdough starter and whole wheat flour, this old-fashioned bread isn’t as tangy as San Francisco sourdough and has a tighter crumb than pain au levain—the other French wheat sourdough bread. Also known as pain miche, pain de campagne is a perfect receptacle for jam or ideal for making sandwiches.
12. 12. Pain de mie: Pain de mie, French for “bread of crumb,” is a fluffy white bread that’s light on crust. The sandwich bread recipe features commercial yeast that creates a mild flavor and uniform texture. Pain de mie is an ideal sandwich bread that makes a great base for pain perdu (French toast) or croutons.
13. 13. Pain de seigle: Pain de seigle is a rustic French rye bread full of malty, chocolatey flavor. Rye, a cold-hardy grain that thrives in nutrient-poor soil, was once a staple food in northern and eastern Europe.

We’ve got you covered. All you knead (see what we did there?) is The MasterClass Annual Membership, some water, flour, salt, and yeast, and our exclusive lessons from Apollonia Poilâne—Paris’s premier bread maker and one of the earliest architects of the artisanal bread movement. Roll up your sleeves and get baking.