Behold the baguette. It’s such a simple thing—flour, salt, water and yeast. And yet so many available in the DMV are subpar, devoid of the trademark shatter-y crispiness of the crust and the billowy interior found in any boulangerie in France—and one in Potomac: Boulangerie Christophe. “So many of our customers tell us, ‘This is the first baguette I’ve had that tastes like the ones in France!’” says Sylvie Grattier, who co-owns the bakery with her husband, baker Stéphane Grattier, and their partner, Didier Martin. The Grattiers immigrated to the United States in 2017 from Grenoble, France, where they once owned six bakeries, for Stéphane to work for Fresh Baguette. He left to join Martin at Boulangerie Christophe in Georgetown in 2019. The Cabin John Village location opened in May 2022.
Grattier’s baguettes are award-winning, earning the Best Sourdough Baguette in the USA designation from the Tiptree World Bread Awards in New York 2019 and, after the awards were halted during COVID, in 2022. (The awards didn’t take place in 2023.) This didn’t happen by chance. The bread takes two days to make in a meticulous process using the best ingredients. Grattier imports Label Rouge T65 flour (10.8% protein) from France, an additive-free flour that contains a higher percentage of germ than American varieties generally do. The French government ascribes the red label only to products it considers superlative.
To make the baguettes, Grattier mixes the flour, water, levain (starter), a little yeast and fleur de sel Guérande (natural French sea salt) at low speed for 10 minutes and lets the flour absorb the water (this is called “autolyse”) for two hours. The dough’s hydration—the percentage of water versus flour—is 70%, which will create an airy product. Then the dough is stored in plastic containers and put in a proofer at around 37°F for 12 to 24 hours. Grattier portions the dough the following day, lets it rest for 30 minutes, then forms the loaves and lets them rest an hour before baking at 500°F for 24 minutes in a wood oven fired with oak pellets. He adds water to the oven to create steam, which facilitates formation of a thin, crunchy, deep brown crust. On an average day, Grattier bakes 150 to 200 plain and seeded baguettes ($4.50) and 20 to 40 (1.2-pound) loaves ($9). Sometimes the simplest things aren’t so simple after all.
Boulangerie Christophe, 11321 Seven Locks Road (Cabin John Village), Suite 100, Potomac; 301-298-9878; boulangeriechristophe.com