When Nicolas Papoin was living in Brittany, a coastal region on the west of France, there was no shortage of fresh bread.
“There’s bread all over the place over there,” he said.
Originally from France, Papoin had gone to school for architectural carving and had a career in stonework and restoration. He carved sandstone and limestone and worked on sculptures in cathedrals and chateaus; it was his art. His father had also worked with stone, building chimney, so it had deep roots in his family.
Papoin met American artist Emily Noelle Lambert in the spring of 2016 when she was visiting France for an artist residency. The two got married and Papoin moved across the Atlantic Ocean from Brittany to New York City.
Lambert had been an artist-in-residence at MacDowell’s Peterborough campus in 2014, and when she saw a job opening as a painting and drawing professor at Keene State College, she was excited about the possibility of returning to the Monadnock region.
She got the job and they moved out of the city to Harrisville in 2019.
In 2020, Papoin started baking sourdough bread. At first, he was just baking for the joy of it, giving bread to neighbors and friends, but pretty soon he started selling bread at the Harrisville General Store and his business, Les Bonnes Miches (translated to “Good Loaves”) began.
Now, the couple lives in Peterborough and in addition to Harrisville General Store, Papoin’s sourdough can be found at The Root in Temple and Nature’s Green Grocer in West Peterborough. It had been available at Rosaly’s before their season ended, as well.
For Papoin, making bread is a lot different than stonework – bread only lasts two to three days and it doesn’t require as much heavy lifting – but there are similarities.
He explained that working with stone is “a long process, and if you fail one step you can’t go back. It’s the same with bread.”
Papoin has been surprised by the community response, and when he and Lambert went on the Monadnock Art Tour, they met many people who had bought Les Bonnes Miches bread and expressed to Papoin how grateful they were for what he was providing to the community.
Les Bonnes Miches offers sourdough loaves, and his flavors have included poppy seed, cranberry chocolate and pumpkin. Papoin uses all organic ingredients and is currently working on an apple loaf. Apples and apple cider are a cultural flavor in Brittany, similar to here.
Papoin’s parents are planning a visit and will bring along a starter from a French bakery in Brittany, La Chapelle du Lou du Lac.
Papoin is excited to grow his business and is looking for new places to distribute his bread. He and Lambert are currently planning an expansion for the baking space at their home, which will allow him to make more good loaves.
Les Bonnes Miches delivers fresh bread to Harrisville General Store on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, to Nature’s Green Grocer on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and to The Root Cafe on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
They are active on Instagram and can be found at their website, les-bonnes-miches.business.site.