There are the well-kept secrets, the compulsory stops and the ones worth seeing. There are above all essentials of all kinds that it is good to share. For the pleasure of your palates, The duty has therefore imagined a meeting in the form of a gourmet notebook, one theme at a time. And since an address list must contain classics, we go with a hot topic: the best baguettes. Those whose quality is measured by the desire to tear a piece of it as soon as you push the door. By Sophie Grenier-Héroux.
Kamouraska
Niemand bakery
There is something solemn when you take the small alley that leads to the Niemand bakery. Does it have to do with the Anglo-Saxon architectural style of the house? Is it the fresh salty air that mixes with the smell of hot bread? No one can say what makes this pilgrimage to the lair of Jochen Niemand and Denise Pelletier so unique, but more than one knows that we always come back to it. For the baguette, among other things, hand-shaped with stone-ground flour. Its crisp and golden crust, its tasty and airy crumb; here is a bread that we eat plain before even having thought of what we could accompany it.
82, avenue Morel, Kamouraska
Quebec
Borderon
The art of bread passed down from father to son is the premise of this institution in the capital. For nearly 30 years, not only Eric, the father, has been promoting the artisanal know-how which gives all the finesse to the various baked breads, but François, the son, has given himself the mission of producing his own flour from sustainable agriculture using local grains, that is to say with the fewest possible inputs. Here, the three kinds of baguettes – including the one made with a part of sourdough and a part of yeast – are sublime. The honeycomb and tender crumb has a je ne sais quoi that forces you to stop as soon as you pass the window. No wonder the good restaurants in Quebec offer Borderon bread to their guests. Three points of sale in the central districts, including the oldest at the Halles Cartier.
1191, avenue Cartier, Quebec
Pascal Le Boulanger
Another family institution, this one located on the mountainside. As his name says, Pascal Le Boulanger, it is the project of Pascal Chazal, who learned the trade from his family of artisan bakers in the region of Lyon, France. Established near Quebec since 2012, he quickly saw his creations gain popularity that crossed the borders of Stoneham and Lac-Beauport. It is well known: anyone who ventures into the surrounding forests to get their fresh air also gets their fill of chopsticks. A bakery that is certainly worth the detour.
4, avenue Tewkesbury, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury and 1000, boulevard du Lac, Lac-Beauport
Montreal
The Toledo
Le Toledo bakery is an ode to good bread. A glass case where it is good to have a snack – literally! The baguette, the work of baker Riccardo Arnoult (formerly at L’Amour du Pain, in Boucherville), is delicious. A good wheat taste, just crispy enough, soft on the inside; certainly the kind whose ends you tear apart on the way home. Not insignificant if there is one: the smiling service of the team, which makes you want to come back. When we know that the owner, François Barrière, left the world of finance for the love of bread, we understand the source of this great enthusiasm. And we are not surprised to know that this amalgamation of ingredients has grown a second branch in Verdun.
351, avenue du Mont-Royal Est, Montreal
Arhoma
15 years ago, Ariane Beaumont and her partner, Jérôme Couture, decided to embark on the adventure of baking in order to offer fresh bread in a neighborhood that lacked it. Thus was born Arhoma. “In 2010, it was our third year, the Gazette had titled: “The best bread in Montreal is in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve”. It got us started. There, we knew we were in the gang! »Recalls the co-owner. Even today, with 140 employees and a factory that produces high volume, the couple are still busy preparing baguettes according to the basics that have made them successful: slow fermentation and unbleached white flour. At the initial address, a microproduction is made three times a day by Jérôme Couture, who watches over his dough pieces as on the first day.
15, place Simon-Valois, Montreal
The Fromentier
When we explain to co-owner Darcie Desmarais that the Fromentier baguette is the subject of an article in The duty like one of the best in Montreal, he searches for his words for a few moments. Surprised ? “Pleasantly surprised, yes! And yet, the white sourdough baguette has hit the mark for nearly 30 years. According to him, it is the consistency and the concern to make artisanal bread at each stage that makes the fruits of labor unique. An example: the old wood-fired oven converted into a hearth oven for cooking directly on the stone. Rather than opting for programmed ovens, chef baker and co-owner, Benoit Paradis, has been able to form and keep a small, solid team that has the same vision of baking. A major and rare asset for a night job, underlines Mr. Desmarais. “We could say that we are from the old school, I would rather say that we are authentic. “
1375 Laurier Avenue East, Montreal
Bread in the sails
Ten years ago, the young bakery won second place at the Mondial du Pain in Saint-Étienne, France, for the best baguette in the world. Since then, the rumor which, until then, spread at the foot of Mont Saint-Hilaire, has spread to become a pretty ritornello. Better, it gave the necessary breath to open a second address, this one in Montreal. We flock there for several things, including the sublime sourdough baguette. Constant in its quality – an asset that is too rarely cited -, authentic in its artisanal and human production, through the history of friendship that unites its owners and solidifies the whole team, the baton is a mast that holds all a canopy!
357, rue de Castelnau East, Montreal
250, rue Saint-Georges, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Guillaume
The Guillaume bakery knew, in its own way, to win over a new clientele with the baguette as soon as it opened in 2010. Its space with modern and dark lines with an accent of yellow, its marketing which tends more towards the generosity of the products than the artisanal aspect; we feel that Guillaume Vaillant wanted to do things differently. With the possible exception of his baguette, which plays in classic notes with a golden crust and a honeycomb and tasty crumb. Moreover, the owner believes that what defines the work of the baker will always be his baguette. Hers takes its signature more in the manufacturing process – from shaping to cooking – than in the search for a particular flour. This consistency of quality makes him sell nearly 200 baguettes per day in a newly enlarged room.
5170, boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal
Love of bread
The generous bread and pastries stalls remind us of the words adorning the façade: “love” and “bread”. It is undoubtedly this same love which inspired the dough recipe, which comes in several versions of breads, including the baguette, and which collects prizes and praise. The last one in the running is that of the best baguette 2019, awarded by the Association des artisans boulangers du Québec for “La Québécoise”. Its sister, the “Bouchervilloise” baguette, offers the same dough, but in a larger size, while the “Sauciflon” enhances the good flavor of bread with red wine and a rosette from Lyon. Much love in this bread, it goes without saying!
Four points of sale, including the new La Fabrique branch, located at 3050, boulevard Matte, Brossard
Sherbrooke
The real riches
What emerges from this bakery is the great concern for quality. After taking a break from the profession for four years, Jean-Pierre Oddo, baker and co-owner, has decided to be in touch with his values. Like François Borderon, in Quebec, he imported a mill built according to the Astrié method in order to make his own flour with local grains from responsible and thoughtful agriculture. “We work with nature”, he underlines, citing the writer Jean Giono as a source of inspiration for his way of seeing and practicing the profession. “It’s a lot of work, but my team and I are perfectionists and it’s nice [de savoir que les gens aiment notre baguette]. “
242 King Street West, Sherbrooke
11, rue Léger, Sherbrooke