Pain de mie - literally crumb-bread, i.e. without crust - was first made to satisfy the demands of tourists from Britain or America who found French loaves too crusty, too rustic and perhaps too tasty. All that was in the early years of this century. Now the French, too, have been convinced of the utility of this loaf: at least for some sandwiches and delicate little canapés. Generally, however, they remain wedded to their baguette.

In the days when bread prices were fixed by govern