My Top 10 Gluten-Free Paris Pastries
Did I plan my weekend around visiting the best bakeries? Yes, yes I did
Hi team, happy Monday! I had such an influx of subscribers yesterday (I’m not sure where you came from, but hello!! And the biggest welcome!) that I decided to postpone sending out this newsletter to today, to make sure that nobody missed it. And what a better way to start the week, IMO, than with pastries?
I was lucky enough to spend last weekend in Paris. I’d been a few times before - the last about 5 or 6 years ago - but this time felt more charming and romantic and was definitely more delicious than ever. We walked everywhere or got the metro when we just couldn’t walk anymore, visited museums (we can never resist the Louvre and loved the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris and The Palais de Tokyo) and spoke to the friendliest of people.
There are stunning bakeries or boulangeries, viennoiseries and pâtisseries on every street corner of the city, but more recently - at least it feels like - a growing number of gluten-free spots too. The sheer joy of being able to step foot into such a place and know that I could eat anything from the colourful patisserie-laden counter did not get old. It was heaven in a moment and I know I am not alone amongst us in that feeling on the rare occasions it happens??
When I got home I knew I had to share this joy with you!
So that if you’re planning on going to Paris soon, or hope to in the near future, you know exactly where to head first.
Without further ado - here is the list of my top 10 gluten-free Paris pastries. A few caveats before we get started:
This is by no means an exhaustive list, I am only one small human and am only capable of eating so many pastries (trust me, I still wish I could have fit in more). It does however focus on the bakeries that I had heard the best things about and I’ve given a mention to the few that we didn’t get round to below
Let’s be honest, a gluten-free pastry in Paris is still a gluten-free pastry in Paris - everything on this list was delightful and a total treat, this list is purely for fun and made by somebody who recipe develops and who likes to dissect how things are baked and made
I don’t have coeliac disease, so I am very lucky that I don’t have to be mindful of cross contamination. As far as I’m aware all of the bakeries in the top 10 are fully gluten-free, but please do double check if you need to (which I know you will anyway, you don’t need me to tell you!)
Some of the pastries in this list contain higher FODMAP foods such as apples and pistachios, which I can tolerate in smaller amounts - as always, you do you
This email is a big one, so you might have to open it in your web browser to read it fully.
Wishing you a really lovely week, whatever it might look like and let me know if this was useful, if you plan to go to Paris or have any other recommendations for fellow readers in the comments below!
Emma x
At #10 - Pistachio Babka (Copains)
I can’t believe I’m saying this but number 10 has to be the enticingly green pistachio babka from Copains, who have a few sites dotted around Paris. It was BEAUTIFUL - as was the shop itself - but as somebody who loves the flavour of pistachio I wanted just a bit more flavour and a little more texture and oompf.
The service at Copains was great - it’s a big open room and as soon as we walked in we were talked through the sea of impressive pastries and breads AND all of their individual toppings and fillings by an incredibly knowledgable and helpful staff member (there is so much choice, it really was very appreciated).
It should be said that I’d eaten a fair few pastries by this point and at the moment in time it just didn’t hit the spot as much as I wanted it to. I would definitely try a different flavoured babka another time.
#9 - Croissant (Noglu)
With Manna Dew’s gluten-free croissants in London being so good, I confess I went into eating this croissant from Noglu with the bar already set pretty high. This was on the smaller side and just a little less flaky and open than I would have liked. I think it may have been dairy free, which in itself is incredibly impressive, but it wasn’t my favourite of the bunch.
#8 - Pain au Raisin (Noglu)
Because there were so many other incredible pastries on this list, this Pain au Raisin from Noglu is lower down than I would like it to be however - it truly was delicious. It had a custardy pastry cream filling, plump raisins and a crispy outer layer of flaky pastry. I ate it on a park bench, with a chorus of birds chirping and children playing and in some quite stiff winds (the weather was all over the shop). It was a delight.
Noglu have two locations in Paris and the one that we visited was small and absolutely packed, full of customers that had come from far and wide. The lady next to me in the queue was visiting from America and there with her daughter who needed to avoid gluten. She was so happy to be able to share in that moment a few pastries with her family, that it only confirmed to me the power and community-forming brilliance of these places that cater for those of us with dietary requirements. They must be protected at all costs!
#7 Vanilla New York Roll (Copains)
I think this was the flakiest pastry of the bunch. Crisp, golden brown and again, so very pretty. Visually, Copains really did have a stunning spread. While I LOVED the texture of this, I again just wanted a little more flavour.
Copains very kindly reached out when they first opened up asking if it wanted to visit the store. I was not in a position to fly to Paris at that moment! But I am very glad that I did make the visit as part of this trip (still very much as a paying customer). I’ve since read up about how good the bread is meant to be at Copains and next time I would stash a few loaves in my bag to try, bringing them home on the Eurostar.
#6 and 5 - Chausson aux Pommes and Canelé (Noglu)
This Chausson aux Pommes or apple turnover almost bought me to tears. I definitely went over my apple tolerance with this one, but on this occasion, it was worth it. The cinnamon-spiked apple fulling was sweet yet tart and melt-in-your-mouth soft but still somehow still with just the right amount of bite. It transported me back to eating 29p store-bought apple turnovers as a child (though it was obviously, much better).
And then the canelé! Which I learnt only this week was pronounced Can-nuh-lay… Chewy, rich and lightly spiced, flavoured usually with rum and boasting a caramelised deep brown exterior, they are notoriously challenging to make. This one was gorgeous. I wish I’d taken a photograph of the interior, but it disappeared too quickly…
#4 Orange Blossom Brioche (Copains)
Granted it doesn’t look like much. But this delicate little wedge of brioche, wow! The orange blossom flavour was maybe a little stronger than I would have chosen, but it was absolutely gorgeous. So pillowy soft and rich from the eggs and butter. It had that tearable quality you find in gluten-containing enriched breads that made me want to ask Copains for all of their secrets.
With everything else being so eye-catching in the shop I almost missed the more subdued brioche (though baked in a majestic crown and sprinkled with pearl sugar that truly caught the light, it had its own great thing going on). Make sure you that you don’t!
#3 and 2 Apple Tartlet with Almond Cream and Raspberry Eclair (Boulangerie Chambelland)
Walking into Boulangerie Chambelland, their counter was more low-key than Copains and some of the other places that we visited. The vibe of the bakery itself was much calmer, with lots of tables to sit inside and out the front, with clusters of people having meetings or working on laptops. You might not instantly think much of it, but the food! The ingredient lists are simple at Boulangerie Chambelland and that’s where it felt like they thrived. The flavour of everything we tried was delicate yet rich, balanced and so very memorable. Nothing was too sweet, nutritious whole grains featured heavily and the sandwiches and bruschettas - if only I’d had more room!
Their two heavily used flours - rice and buckwheat - come from the two owner’s own mill in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region (pretty cool) and their gluten-free bread is baked on-site in cleverly shaped square loaves and flat breads; sometimes made with grains and seeds, or enriched with nuts, dried fruit and raisins.
This apple tartlet had a tender, crumbly buckwheat pastry and was filled with a rich almond cream and perfectly soft apples and was topped with a gorgeous crumble. The choux pastry on the raspberry eclair was light, with just the right amount of chew and the filling!! It was tart and creamy and you could really taste the raspberry.
#1 Chocolate Orange Sugar Loaf (Boulangerie Chambelland)
Taking top spot, however (well done for getting this far)!! Has to be this ^. I had never tried a sugar loaf before and it was almost impossible to choose between this chocolate orange sugar loaf, their vanilla raisin sugar loaf and their original plain sugar loaf. After 10 minutes of internal debating I finally made a decision and ooooof. Think chewy, crispy, sugary on the outside, with a rich custardy flavour on the inside that was dotted with slightly melted chocolate chunks and zingy orange zest. Boulangerie Chambelland say that their taste is a mixture of warm brioche, cannelé and bread pudding and I would be inclined to agree. My favourite of the bunch.
And some honorary mentions -
The sesame focaccia from Boulangerie Chambelland
This gluten-free sesame focaccia from Boulangerie Chambelland was the most travelled focaccia in all of Paris, spending a few days in my bag before finally being eaten. A crime I know, but there were too many pastries to try first!
The ingredients were: rice flour, filtered water, coconut oil, cane sugar, fresh baker's yeast, sesame, psyllium and salt and it was outstanding. I loved the sesame layer for the flavour and texture it gave and I eventually ate it with goat’s cheese and ham crisps.
A compulsory ice cream cone at Grom
Grom is an Italian gelato chain that serves freshly made gelato in golden, crisp, gluten-free waffle cones. They’re always busy, the gelato is always good and I am always thrilled to be licking gelato from a cone while it drips down my arm instead of being caught in a cone.
And a few more spots I didn’t manage to check out, but you might like to!
Thank you for sharing this!! Really helped my SO in our recent Paris trip.