Lionel Poilâne

Who was Lionel Poilâne?

Lionel Poilâne was a French boulanger and entrepreneur whose commitment to crafting quality bread earned him worldwide renown. 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.

Poilâne is widely known for a round, two-kilogram sourdough country bread referred to as a miche or pain Poilâne. This bread is often referred to as whole-wheat but in fact is not: the flour used is mostly so-called grey flour of 85% extraction. According to Poilâne's own website, the dough also contains 30% spelt, an ancestor of wheat.

In addition to miches, the Poilâne bakery offers rye bread, raisin bread, nut bread, Punitions, and an assortment of pastries to its clients. Poilâne is perhaps one of the most famous names in the baking industry today.

Poilâne mastered his single product and trained his apprentices in the physical baking process, which he believed to be the most important aspect of his vision.