Thursday, August 24, 2006

M et Mme Massot

There is a heavenly place 4 blocks from my house. It is the bakery of the Massots. They make the best bread. EVER. Flutes (like a baguette but much thinner and smaller and softer crust) with chorizo. Flutes with bacon. Flutes with sharp emmenthal cheese. Hearty loaves with apples, hazelnuts, and raisins. Loaves with goat cheese and herbs. Loaves with pears and roquefort. Leavened baguettes, country baguettes, regular (although nothing about them is regular) baguettes. And my personal favorite, spelt loaf (épautre), more flavorful than wheat flour but not too whole grainy that makes you feel like you're eating rope.

At lunch they set out fougasse, which is kind of like a French foccacia. Topped with feta and grilled tomatoes or bacon and goat cheese. They never sell sandwiches.

And then there's the sweet stuff. Baguette viennoise (which is only like a baguette in its shape - which makes sense because baguette really means wand, as in magic, which this bread is, by the way) with chocolate. Baguette viennoise with nouagtine. (Viennoise bread is kind of like brioche but less butter and more milk.) And of course the standards, pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant), brioche, brioche with chocolate, croissant, and pain au raisin. During the winter they make their own ginger bread loaves. And in the spring, lemon pound cake. On wednesdays, which children have off every week, they make chouquettes. I've talked about these before. Cream puffs without the cream and topped with little bits of rock sugar.

For the past month, M et Mme Massot have been on vacation.

But now they're back.

Made my day.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's it - I must eat some bread and cheese w/ chocolate NOW! And, I'm just starting to fit into my clothes again - oh well!

Grish said...

You know I was trying to think of the last time I actually had fresh bread. It seams, at least in my part of America, that everything is pre-packaged and preserved for eternity...:P

Anonymous said...

4 blocks who are you kidding, I was the one who walked it you always drive, that is a long long 4 blocks.

I do miss their bread.

Nicole said...

Christi - yeah, when are you coming back?

Beth - I'd mail you some if I could. But it would be nasty stale by the time you got it.

Zeb - different bakery...it's the one across from the drop in day care and it really is 4 blocks and I have to go every other day now for the épautre. And I never take my car there unless I'm going somewhere else after.

Grish - That's terrible! Where in the heck do you live? There's got to be some funky college town nearby - you can always find a good bakery in a funky college town.

Anonymous said...

Which direction is this bakery? I thought I covered them all.

Lorraine said...

One of each, please. Merci.

Anonymous said...

Denise and I talked about it and we did go to that bakery when you showed us boy2 drop in day care. I walked over their a couple times to get the good bacon/bread. Your mind must be slipping.

Nicole said...

Zeb - I thought you were talking about the one next to the cathedral with the chocolate snails. Your mind must be slipping though, I do go to this one on foot a lot - although to be honest, almost never when you're here, because you go instead.

Anonymous said...

So in a round about way you are admitting I was right on my first response. Of course you don't go when I am there, that is what big brothers are for.

You are right they do have great bread.

Nicole said...

Zeb - Need the last word much?

Anonymous said...

not as much as you must have