Le Pain Paysan, 66600 Espira de l’Agly

Le Pain Paysan is a bakery that to my knowledge  has been going  for over 35 years, and is now being run by the second generation of the family who were small children when I first started getting my bread there.

It is a wonderful place to visit with,  as the centrepiece,   the large open wood-burning  oven where all the bread is baked.  Here you can see various sorts of bread being  prepared:   cereal , nut, raisin and wholemeal loaves, in addition to the usual white bread offerings which come in all shapes and sizes. All the loaves can be sliced on request at no extra charge..

But it’s not just a bread shop – they make the most wonderful “fougasses” which are large flat pastries which can serve 6 to 8 people – one sweet and one sour.  The sweet one is covered in lemon cream, and the aperitif  version  is scattered with small pieces of bacon.  Both are equally delicious! Other tasty offerings  are the individual pizzas and the onion tartlets with anchovies.

They also make succulent cakes – my favourite is the orange one – as well as fruit tarts with all the seasonal fruits.  Going in there is like visiting a Aladdin’s  Home-made Cake Cavern and the prices are very reasonable.

The shop is open  every day except Tuesday, form 8.a.m to 7 p.m. all year round and  I have rarely been there when the parking lot hasn’t been busy!