Immigration: The Great Enrichment

Post-war immigration transformed French bread in beautiful ways. Armenians fleeing genocide brought lavash techniques that influenced flatbread production. Portuguese workers introduced broa methods that merged with French traditions. North African immigrants didn't just open boulangeries in the banlieues—they revolutionized French baking itself.

Consider the success of pain aux olives, now a French staple. Its popularity owes much to Maghrebi bakers who introduced Mediterranean flavors to traditional French doughs. Habib Bourguiba Jr., a Tunisian immigrant's son who became a renowned baker in Nice, puts it simply: "French bread was never pure—it was always absorbing, adapting, improving."