What does “pain de mie” mean in French?

In a French bakery, a baguette is famous for its hard crust. “Pain de mie” is the opposite: a soft, square sandwich loaf with a thin crust and a fluffy inside. The name tells you why. “La mie” is the soft inside of bread — the crumb. So “pain de mie” means “bread of the crumb.” It is the bread you slice for toast or sandwiches.

In this home-baking clip the cook explains the special tin: “Vous aurez ensuite besoin d’un moule spécial pain de mie” (“Next you’ll need a special pain-de-mie pan”). The lidded tin keeps the loaf square and the crust thin — that is what makes this bread different from a normal loaf. The key word is “la mie,” from Latin “mica” (a tiny crumb). In French, “la mie” is the soft inside of a loaf and “la croûte” is the crust. Bakers talk about both parts: “J’aime la mie, pas la croûte” (“I like the soft inside, not the crust”). “Pain de mie” simply puts the soft part in the name. Good to know: in France, “pain de mie” is the everyday store bread for sandwiches and toast. It is not the same as a baguette or a country loaf (“pain de campagne”). You will see it in supermarkets, recipes, and school lunch boxes across France.