Bakery
Our French bakery collection gathers the packaged breads, viennoiseries, cakes and baking supplies found in a French supermarket: croissants and brioche for breakfast, biscottes and toasts, madeleines and quatre-quarts for the afternoon goûter, regional cakes, crêpes, and everything for baking at home. Epicerie Corner delivers the whole range across the UK.
What Is in a French Bakery Aisle?
In France the bread counter of the boulangerie is only half the story. The supermarket bakery aisle (rayon boulangerie-pâtisserie) holds long-life versions of the things French families eat every day, from the morning brioche to the 4pm snack known as the goûter. It splits into a few families:
- Viennoiseries: yeast-raised doughs enriched with butter, eggs, milk or sugar, sitting between bread and pastry. Croissants and pains au chocolat use a layered dough; brioche and pain au lait do not.
- Breads and toasts: pre-baked rolls, soft burger and hot-dog buns, baguettes viennoises, and the crisp, twice-baked biscottes eaten at breakfast.
- Cakes: madeleines, pound cakes, marble cakes, filled snack cakes and regional specialities.
- Home baking: baking chocolate, cake and dessert mixes, yeast, vanilla, nuts and decorations.
Our French Bakery Range
Breakfast viennoiseries
Pasquier supplies croissants and pains au chocolat in packs of 8 and 16, braided brioche, sliced brioche, pain au lait and the Pitch filled brioches children take to school. La Fournée Dorée, Epi d'Or and Harrys (with its additive-free Doowap chocolate chip buns) add more brioche, milk breads and the cream-filled chinois, a spiral brioche with crème pâtissière. For pastries to bake yourself there is Croustipate pain au chocolat dough. More choice is in Brioches.
Gâche, regional cakes and specialities
The gâche is a Vendée brioche made with fresh cream, denser and more milky than ordinary brioche; we have it whole, sliced and as mini gâches from Nos Regions and La Fournée Dorée. Nos Regions also brings Brioche Vendéenne, a Breton pound cake, Dijon nonnettes (small honey cakes filled with orange jam) and the Creusois Hazelnut Cake from the Creuse. From Bordeaux come canelé bites, with a soft custard centre and caramelised crust, and from Italy a panettone. Ready-made tarts include tarte Tatin, a Normandy apple tart, lemon and strawberry tarts and a northern-style sugar tart.
Madeleines, pound cakes and snack cakes
The madeleine, a small shell-shaped sponge, is linked with the town of Commercy in Lorraine. St Michel makes its Madeleines de Commercy in its biscuit factory there, alongside individually wrapped and chocolate-coated shells; Ker Cadélac, Le Ster and P'tit Déli add long and chocolate chip madeleines. Find them all in Madeleines Cakes. The quatre-quarts, "four quarters", is a pound cake of equal weights of eggs, flour, butter and sugar, sold by Bonne Maman, Ker Cadélac and Nos Regions. Brossard Savane marble cakes, Bonne Maman fruit cakes and the gluten-free Gerblé mini marbled cakes complete the shelf; see Cakes for more.
Biscottes, toasts and breads
Heudebert biscottes come plain, brioche-style and with six cereals; Pasquier Grilletine and Pelletier brioche toasts are softer toasted slices, and Epi d'Or makes brioche toasts and canapé toasts. Jacquet round toasts and Labeyrie gingerbread are made to serve with foie gras. For lunches and barbecues there are brioche burger buns, mini burger buns, hot-dog buns, baguettes viennoises and pre-baked rolls. Browse Toasted Bread for the full choice.
Crêpes and pancakes
Saint Michel crêpes bretonnes, filled crêpes from Whaou and P'tit Déli, and Pasquier and Le Ster pancakes are ready to warm for breakfast or the goûter. More are in Galettes and Crepes.
Home baking
Vahiné, Alsa and Ancel provide baking powder (levure chimique), yeast, vanilla sugar, flavourings, gelatine, almond powder, toppings and cake and flan mixes, while Nestlé Dessert, Lindt, Menier and Poulain supply baking chocolate. Our Home Baking collection goes into these in detail.
How to Choose French Bakery Products
- Time of day: croissants, brioche, biscottes and toasts are breakfast staples; madeleines, Pitch and Savane cakes are classic goûter snacks; tarts and regional cakes suit dessert.
- Richness: brioche and gâche contain more butter and egg than pain au lait or a sliced milk loaf; biscottes are the lightest option.
- Individually wrapped or family size: individually wrapped madeleines, pocket cakes and filled brioches travel well in lunchboxes; whole cakes and sliced loaves are for sharing.
- Ingredients and allergens: almost every product here contains wheat, and many contain egg, milk or nuts. A few, such as the Gerblé mini cakes, are made gluten-free; always check the pack.
Serving French Bakery the French Way
A French breakfast is usually sweet: biscottes or toasted brioche spread with butter and jam, a pain au lait or a croissant, with coffee or hot chocolate. At around 4pm comes the goûter, when madeleines, a slice of quatre-quarts or a filled brioche come out with a glass of milk or a fruit juice. Sliced gâche or brioche also makes excellent pain perdu, the French version of eggy bread.
French Bakery FAQs
What is the difference between brioche and pain au lait?
Both are soft, enriched yeast doughs. Brioche is made with a higher proportion of butter and eggs, which gives it a rich, golden crumb. Pain au lait relies more on milk with less butter and egg, so it is lighter and less rich. Gâche vendéenne is another relative, made with fresh cream and known for its dense, milky crumb.
What is a biscotte?
A biscotte is a French rusk: bread that is baked, sliced and then baked again until dry and crisp. It is eaten mainly at breakfast, spread with butter, jam or honey, and keeps for a long time in its packet. Varieties include plain, wholemeal, multigrain and brioche-style biscottes, such as those made by Heudebert.
What is a viennoiserie?
Viennoiserie is the French term for baked goods made from a yeast dough enriched with butter, eggs, milk or sugar. They sit between bread and pastry. Some, like croissants and pains au chocolat, use a laminated (layered) dough, while brioche and pain au lait are made from an enriched but unlayered dough.
How should I store packaged brioche and cakes?
Keep them sealed in their original packaging, at room temperature and away from heat and sunlight, and eat them by the date on the pack. Once opened, close the bag tightly or move the contents to an airtight container so they stay soft. Ready-made tarts and anything labelled as chilled should go in the fridge; follow the storage instructions on each product.
Bakery
More About Bakery
Our French bakery collection gathers the packaged breads, viennoiseries, cakes and baking supplies found in a French supermarket: croissants and brioche for breakfast, biscottes and toasts, madeleines and quatre-quarts for the afternoon goûter, regional cakes, crêpes, and everything for baking at home. Epicerie Corner delivers the whole range across the UK.
What Is in a French Bakery Aisle?
In France the bread counter of the boulangerie is only half the story. The supermarket bakery aisle (rayon boulangerie-pâtisserie) holds long-life versions of the things French families eat every day, from the morning brioche to the 4pm snack known as the goûter. It splits into a few families:
- Viennoiseries: yeast-raised doughs enriched with butter, eggs, milk or sugar, sitting between bread and pastry. Croissants and pains au chocolat use a layered dough; brioche and pain au lait do not.
- Breads and toasts: pre-baked rolls, soft burger and hot-dog buns, baguettes viennoises, and the crisp, twice-baked biscottes eaten at breakfast.
- Cakes: madeleines, pound cakes, marble cakes, filled snack cakes and regional specialities.
- Home baking: baking chocolate, cake and dessert mixes, yeast, vanilla, nuts and decorations.
Our French Bakery Range
Breakfast viennoiseries
Pasquier supplies croissants and pains au chocolat in packs of 8 and 16, braided brioche, sliced brioche, pain au lait and the Pitch filled brioches children take to school. La Fournée Dorée, Epi d'Or and Harrys (with its additive-free Doowap chocolate chip buns) add more brioche, milk breads and the cream-filled chinois, a spiral brioche with crème pâtissière. For pastries to bake yourself there is Croustipate pain au chocolat dough. More choice is in Brioches.
Gâche, regional cakes and specialities
The gâche is a Vendée brioche made with fresh cream, denser and more milky than ordinary brioche; we have it whole, sliced and as mini gâches from Nos Regions and La Fournée Dorée. Nos Regions also brings Brioche Vendéenne, a Breton pound cake, Dijon nonnettes (small honey cakes filled with orange jam) and the Creusois Hazelnut Cake from the Creuse. From Bordeaux come canelé bites, with a soft custard centre and caramelised crust, and from Italy a panettone. Ready-made tarts include tarte Tatin, a Normandy apple tart, lemon and strawberry tarts and a northern-style sugar tart.
Madeleines, pound cakes and snack cakes
The madeleine, a small shell-shaped sponge, is linked with the town of Commercy in Lorraine. St Michel makes its Madeleines de Commercy in its biscuit factory there, alongside individually wrapped and chocolate-coated shells; Ker Cadélac, Le Ster and P'tit Déli add long and chocolate chip madeleines. Find them all in Madeleines Cakes. The quatre-quarts, "four quarters", is a pound cake of equal weights of eggs, flour, butter and sugar, sold by Bonne Maman, Ker Cadélac and Nos Regions. Brossard Savane marble cakes, Bonne Maman fruit cakes and the gluten-free Gerblé mini marbled cakes complete the shelf; see Cakes for more.
Biscottes, toasts and breads
Heudebert biscottes come plain, brioche-style and with six cereals; Pasquier Grilletine and Pelletier brioche toasts are softer toasted slices, and Epi d'Or makes brioche toasts and canapé toasts. Jacquet round toasts and Labeyrie gingerbread are made to serve with foie gras. For lunches and barbecues there are brioche burger buns, mini burger buns, hot-dog buns, baguettes viennoises and pre-baked rolls. Browse Toasted Bread for the full choice.
Crêpes and pancakes
Saint Michel crêpes bretonnes, filled crêpes from Whaou and P'tit Déli, and Pasquier and Le Ster pancakes are ready to warm for breakfast or the goûter. More are in Galettes and Crepes.
Home baking
Vahiné, Alsa and Ancel provide baking powder (levure chimique), yeast, vanilla sugar, flavourings, gelatine, almond powder, toppings and cake and flan mixes, while Nestlé Dessert, Lindt, Menier and Poulain supply baking chocolate. Our Home Baking collection goes into these in detail.
How to Choose French Bakery Products
- Time of day: croissants, brioche, biscottes and toasts are breakfast staples; madeleines, Pitch and Savane cakes are classic goûter snacks; tarts and regional cakes suit dessert.
- Richness: brioche and gâche contain more butter and egg than pain au lait or a sliced milk loaf; biscottes are the lightest option.
- Individually wrapped or family size: individually wrapped madeleines, pocket cakes and filled brioches travel well in lunchboxes; whole cakes and sliced loaves are for sharing.
- Ingredients and allergens: almost every product here contains wheat, and many contain egg, milk or nuts. A few, such as the Gerblé mini cakes, are made gluten-free; always check the pack.
Serving French Bakery the French Way
A French breakfast is usually sweet: biscottes or toasted brioche spread with butter and jam, a pain au lait or a croissant, with coffee or hot chocolate. At around 4pm comes the goûter, when madeleines, a slice of quatre-quarts or a filled brioche come out with a glass of milk or a fruit juice. Sliced gâche or brioche also makes excellent pain perdu, the French version of eggy bread.
French Bakery FAQs
What is the difference between brioche and pain au lait?
Both are soft, enriched yeast doughs. Brioche is made with a higher proportion of butter and eggs, which gives it a rich, golden crumb. Pain au lait relies more on milk with less butter and egg, so it is lighter and less rich. Gâche vendéenne is another relative, made with fresh cream and known for its dense, milky crumb.
What is a biscotte?
A biscotte is a French rusk: bread that is baked, sliced and then baked again until dry and crisp. It is eaten mainly at breakfast, spread with butter, jam or honey, and keeps for a long time in its packet. Varieties include plain, wholemeal, multigrain and brioche-style biscottes, such as those made by Heudebert.
What is a viennoiserie?
Viennoiserie is the French term for baked goods made from a yeast dough enriched with butter, eggs, milk or sugar. They sit between bread and pastry. Some, like croissants and pains au chocolat, use a laminated (layered) dough, while brioche and pain au lait are made from an enriched but unlayered dough.
How should I store packaged brioche and cakes?
Keep them sealed in their original packaging, at room temperature and away from heat and sunlight, and eat them by the date on the pack. Once opened, close the bag tightly or move the contents to an airtight container so they stay soft. Ready-made tarts and anything labelled as chilled should go in the fridge; follow the storage instructions on each product.