Les Boulangeries

 Oh my Lord!  My last posting was July 15th!  Have I exhausted everything there is to know about Aix-en-Provence?  Quite possibly…but then I reviewed the photos of the Aparthotel Adagio and was appalled to see sandwich bread in their breakfast buffet!!

I’ve seen lots of patisseries around the marché but not as many boulangeries as I would like.  In Paris in the 17th arroundissement there were plenty.  I’m not going to be eating sandwich bread in France!  Not even for sandwiches!  So I am on a Quest!

Observing Leslie says that the best boulangerie in Aix is Farinoman Fou, 1.1 kilometers from our aparthotel, so it’s not one to go to every morning to get our morning pain.  Leslie says they enjoyed “the D’Isère et d’Ardèche (a magnificent fruit, nut, and grain combination) and Le Batard du Cousin (crunchy seeds over a delicious whole-grain interior).” Sounds like my kind of bread.  

Leslie also said that the best baguette was from a chain: Hat’s. They also have artisan bread which is even more expensive than Farinoman. But the location on Rue Espariat is a close 8-minute walk from the British American Institute where we have language classes. They seem to specialize in lunches so that is an option. I wonder if they take the tickets resto.

But, is there a boulangerie just down the street from our aparthotel? Fortunately there is one a 3 minute walk away on Rue de la République: La Fournaise. Their artisan bread looks very good to me and they even have a fougasse with olives! They’re open everyday from 7am to 8pm except for Sunday when it is 7am to 2 pm.

And there is another boulangerie south of that on Ave. Giuseppe Verdi, a 5 minute walk from the aparthotel.  It is part of a chain: Land & Monkeys.  

Fortunately, we won’t have to settle for sandwich bread while we are in Aix.

Roman Breads and Pastries

We've already mentioned the flatbread, pizza bianca, but Romans eat a lot of other breads as well, and not only to mop up their spaghetti sauce, the sugo.

Cornetto, saccotino, cappuccino and spremuta d’arancia

Cornetto
In the mornings, if they have breakfast at all, which they call calazione (with a name like that no wonder they forget to eat it), they will have a cornetto with their caffè.   Bread, Cakes and Ale says: A cornetto (“little horn”) is not a croissant (French for “crescent”), not being as buttery and flaky.  There is the cornetto semplice (plain) and the cornetto ripieno (filled) alla crema (with custard), alla marmellata (with jam), al miele (with honey and often integrale, wholewheat), and cornetto al cioccolato (with nutella).  Two different websites have recommended Caffè Barberini in Testaccio (next to Volpetti's) for the best cornetti but I'd rather find a pasticceria near the apartment with hot ones.

Saccottino al Cioccolato
This is the Italian for pain au chocolat.  You can order that if you prefer for colazione.   

Note: this is one time of day that you can order a cappuccino... and some spremuta d’arancia (and hope it is freshly squeezed orange juice).  For more information on caffè in Rome see Will Travel for Food's article: Prendiamo un caffè?  6 coffee "bars" to try in Rome (she also thinks that Barberini's in Testaccio has the best cornetti).  And remember that it costs money to sit down at a table.  Italians stand at the bar and wolf it down.

A Quick Italian lesson here from Cornell in Rome:
"Panetteria and Panificio: where you can get bread (aka bakery)
Pasticceria: pastries or cakes, or both
Forno: “oven” in English. Indicates where bread is actually produced
In general, Panificio means a place where bread is produced and sold."

Maritozzi

Maritozzo (little husband - marito)
I thought that this would count as a morning breakfast roll since it is a sweet bun with raisins but I discovered it was originally an Easter bun (like hot cross buns are here).  In Rome they serve it with panna (whipped cream).

Cannolis
These have never been my favorite but perhaps I haven't had the real thing -- although for that I suppose we'll have to wait till we go to Sicily.  We can try them in Rome but they are supposed to be filled with the ricotta only when you order them since otherwise they get soggy.  Revealed in Rome says that the Sicilian bakery Ciuri Ciuri is good for such Sicilian desserts, as is Sicilia e Duce in Testaccio.  She says go in to look at the desserts even if you don't buy any  (I'd like to see the Cassatta).

Bruschetta on Pane di Genzano
Does this count?   One blog says that "Roman bruschetta is traditionally made on pane casereccio di Genzano" which comes from a small town outside of Rome where they have a festa del pane every September.  Here's a video from YouTube about it.  Perhaps we can pick up a quarter of a loaf at the mercato.

Pangiallo Romano (yellow bread)
This is a Christmas bread with dried fruits and nuts that supposedly has its origins during the winter solstice in imperial Rome.  Bread Cakes and Ale has a posting from October 2013 with photos of it and pan pepato, a similar bread with black pepper.  He stayed in Trastevere where he could walk past the "vintage pasticceria Valzani (whose site has a spectacularly crazy landing page)."  The pastries look wonderful even if the website looks like something from the early days of the web.  Look at their tea cookies.

 Mostaccioli romani
Another Christmas pastry, these are little spiced nut pastries, sometimes dipped in chocolate, often in diamond shapes.   Here's more information on buying Christmas pastries, in case we miss our plane home.

Sflogiatelle
Yes, Fernando, you can get sflogliatelle in Rome but they aren't supposed to be as good as the ones from Naples.  That being said, they and the other pastries sure look good at Linari in the Centro Storico.