The Best Baguette???

[tombombadillo]

What boulangerie has the best baguette?

[mainsqueeze]

My favourite is the retro d'or at autour d'un pain.

[SnackHappy]

It's surprising that the Retrodor is that good when the regular baguette at Autour d'un Pain is quite mediocre.

[Maximilien]

I like the baguette at Première Moisson (the one at JTM), when they are slightly over-cooked (or burned), then, they are crispy on the outside and chwey on the inside; and they will hold to be good for a day or two.

the 36h baguette from Pain Dorée is good unless it's really humid outside, the crust will get very hard (IMO).

[JQReid]

In my experience, humidity is a mortal enemy of all baguettes. However, I'm still surprised by what you're saying, since it has tended to have the exact opposite effect on most that I've tried, i.e. the crust doesn't develop enough.

[carswell]

Many locals (including restaurant owners) swear by the 36 heures baguette at Au Pain Doré. Placed in a very cool room, the newly formed loaves rise for a day and a half (i.e. 36 hours) before baking. The result is an exceptionally crusty baguette with a rare depth of flavour.

[JQReid]

Having finally tried it, I cannot say I was overly impressed, and Le Fromentier still makes better. Maybe mine was an off (I'll see ho the second performs), but it was floury and tough. It was soft, a little too much on the outside and not enough on the inside, and it gave my jaw a powerful workout. Good (but not great) flavour though.

[carswell]

Never having tried Fromentier's baguette -- the whole-grain and more unusual breads always grab my attention -- but knowing a little about the bakery's dedication to its craft (took an intensive series of bread-baking courses there several years ago), I'm not about to claim the 36 heures is the best French stick in town. That said, I stand by everything in my earlier post. Indeed, the 36 heures is so characterful in both appearance (the blisters), chewiness and taste, that I've identified it "blind" in resto bread baskets. When buying baguettes for wine tastings, I (and other organizers) avoid it because it's too flavourful, when what we want is a neutral bread to clean the mouth between wines (the regular baguettes from Au Pain Doré, Première Moisson and Pâtisserie Belge are perfect for that). Floury, soft on the outside, tough on the inside sounds like no 36 heures I've ever encountered, so you may have had a defective loaf. I hope your second loaf isn't from the same batch. And remember: like Montreal bagels, baguettes should be eaten within a few hours of coming out of the oven; their shelf life is next to nil.

[phedre]

You've never tried Fromentier's baguette?!

Ok that's it: I am bringing a baguette to our next tasting!

[carswell]

Actually, I was thinking of organizing a baguette tasting at the next tasting -- Fromentier, 36 heures, Retrodor and one of the usual suspects, tasted blind, rated by the participants with the results posted here.

Also, we should now bear in mind that Bazaar is open till midnight, making it a viable alternative to Leméac, though we'd have a hard time beating the latter's $22 special.

[phedre]

That could be fun. Let me know if you want me to bring the Fromentier offering.

I certainly wouldn't say no to Anise! As good as Lemeac is, it does get old after awhile!

[swissfoodie]

Can I come?

[carswell]

Can you post your e-mail address? If you add it to your profile, I believe you can delete it afterwards, which should prevent it from falling into spammers' filthy hands.

[cherylmtl]

Me too please?

[swissfoodie]

done - it's in the blog space but not an actual blog - a sympatico address, let me know when you have it so I can delete it. Would love to get in communication with you with regards to other projects as well.

[carswell]

"You've got mail."

[FrenchPeach]

I was always wondering if there was a chowhound "club" that gets together for dinner and /or tastings. Now that my question has been answered...can you provide me with some info. How do I join??

[carswell]

It's a wine-tasting group, not a dinner or any other kind of club, and has no connection with Chowhound beyond the fact that a few of the members post here. If you'd like more info, see www.chowhound.com/topics/424434#2820568 and www.chowhound.com/topics/410916#2678615 though demand is high and the tasting room small.

[JQReid]

To be fair, it took me a while to settle on the baguette myself. The variety is just so huge, I usually take about five minutes just looking, let alone deciding.

[JQReid]

I wouldn't hesitate to say le Fromentier here. Bread is what they do, and they do it in many forms. Both the white and kamut baguettes are delicious, the latter having a rich yellow colour. On weekends, they have a variety made with buckwheat and goat's milk, and on certain days one with walnuts. Texture as close to perfect as I've had in all cases. Hounded down (ho ho) as I might be for saying so, very honourable mentions to the Premiere Moisson chain and to the in-house baguette at Provigo/Loblaws, which run LF's close in most, but not all, areas.

[SnackHappy]

I haven't had the same experience with the PC baguettes at Provigo/Loblaws. Like most frozen, cooked on site baguettes they are good when they are still warm and then it goes downhill real fast. The texture and taste are pretty awful.

I do agree about the Première Moisson baguette. It's really the best supermarket baguette.

[JQReid]

You have a point about the PC baguettes. I too have been completely put off by a day-old. Hence, I only buy them when they're still warm to the touch, and it's put away well before it's had time to go bad. Hence my high opinion, I suppose.

[phedre]

Seconding Fromentier here. I've tried a lot of baguettes in this city, and theirs wins hands down in my opinion.