Sain, the all-things sourdough and organic bakery by the Canal Saint-Martin

In lieu of his restaurant Matière à… chef Anthony Courteille came back to his first passion (he is a trained baker) and has opened Sain, his artisanal bakery. Now laboratory, the bakery is set a bit higher up the street and provides us with more space and choices.

Sain – French for “healthy” – is not a trivial name but encapsulates on its own the very essence and the philosophy of the place: finding nourishing and virtuous bread. To do so, the chef only uses flours based on local farm cereals (from before 1950), more digest because lighter in gluten.

Of course, there is no good bread without good flours, and neither without know-how. Here, fermentation times are long (24h) and mixed with natural sourdoughs made on site in the open-plan bakehouse, guaranteeing another key value: transmission. You may not know it, but sourdough feeds on carbohydrates to develop, ending up with breads with a lower glycemic index than others. Add to this, old flours naturally low in gluten and rich in fibers, and you end up with breads and treats that will not weight you down and will not boost your insulin production that tires you so much.

Each bread has its own features. But the star there is undoubtedly the Pain Saint-Martin. A loaf with sweet honey hints (available by the piece or the cut), with thick crus and creamy crumb. Like a cake!

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Moreover, you find a permanent range of classics (whole wheat bread, white bread, rye bread…) and a few original and seasonal propositions (red kuri squash-squash seeds, hazelnut-wild garlic…) expressing the chef’s hand.

You can also go for the viennoiseries and small cakes! Croissants and pains au chocolat with rocking puff pastry, divine hazelnut roll (brioche-puff pastry with homemade hazelnut cream and hazelnut sprinklers) or an addictive hazelnut and unrefined sugar cookie, completely crazy! The apple turnover does not look much and yet, it is exquisite, super crispy, sour with wonderful seasonal and well-caramelized apples.

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.