Fresh Baguette Brings Authentic French Breads to Bethesda

A new Bethesda bakery opened on Tuesday, 6:30 a.m.: Fresh Baguette, which makes all of its authentic French baguettes, croissants and other breads in house, from scratch.

No bread sold at Fresh Baguette is more than three hours old, and all of its bread machines were imported from France, owner Florent De Felcourt told Patch.

De Felcourt has lived in the DC region for some time. From 2005 to 2008, he worked for the French embassy in DC as a naval attaché. He liked what he found here in terms of French bakeries, but "thought that we could do better," he said. 

Eventually, after De Felcourt returned to France, he opened a company there selling bakery equipment, then decided to return to the DC area—where he had enjoyed living during his time with the embassy—to start a bakery.

And so, he opened Fresh Baguette, at 4919 Bethesda Ave. (next to Nest Cafe) on Tuesday. Originally, it was hoped that the bakery would open in January, but it took more time than expected to get the necessary permits, manager Eddy Bouillot said.

The bakery makes everything from scratch—even growing its own yeast. Traditional French recipes are used, and the chef has a professional degree in bread-making. 

Sandwich ingredients are purchased from local growers as much as possible, and—so that they don't get the bread soggy—the ingredients are prepared on a flat metal tray and slid onto the bread from the tray at the last minute.

The bakery also will be selling buttery croissants, Viennese pastries, salads, quiche and sweets, according to its website.

Read more about Fresh Baguette on the bakery's website and Facebook page, and get updates from its Twitter stream.