Baguette à la Provençale

After living in France for a combined period of time totaling about a year, it is rare for me to be so completely taken back by a baguette or other type of bread that I feel I must include it in a food blog. Pain or bread in France is like water and every single town- large, medium, or small WILL have their share of completely fantastic boulangeries with their own variations of the classics. At Boulangerie d’Antan (there are three in Nantes) I discovered one baguette, so delicious, so completely mesmerizing that I felt it needed its own entry. So here you go folks, behold…
Baguette à la Provençale!!



I must have a thing for anything labeled “à la Provençale” because my last post included a duck paupiette à la… you guessed it… Provençale.

I was in line to buy some wheat bread at this boulangerie when to the left of the counter I saw a small basket with just two of these baguettes. The bright orange color immediately caught my attention and my eyes wandered to the little paper label in front of the baguette. It had the name of the baguette and the price. 2.90 euros… Oh dear, a little pricy for a medium sized baguette.
After fifteen seconds of deep reflection I decided to get one. If there were only two baguettes of this kind left at 11:00AM it must mean that people have bought the rest presumably because they are tasty, or at least I hoped so.
I was hungry (I had a small breakfast that day) so as soon as I left the boulangerie I tore off the end and ate it. The salty flavor of tomatoes and red bell peppers filled my mouth, and I felt a piece of sun-dried tomato within the crust. It is the most flavorful baguette I have ever tasted without being too overpowering that it wouldn’t be good with cheese or with dinner. Quite the contrary, this baguette is delicious on its own, with just a bit of butter, or as a complement to a dish and imagine what it would be like as part of a sandwich. How I wish I could export La Boulangerie d’Antan to Boston.