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Picture this: a twinkling tale that starts some eighty years ago, spanning two generations of visionary bakers before settling on Apollonia Poilâne, our initially-teenaged heroine. It is a tale that weaves itself through a particularly Parisian Paris and a distinctive set of globe-trotting subplots. It is a tale that unites Gerard Depardieu, Robert De Niro and a whole host of other supporting characters through a singular love for one special item. In a suitably surreal turn of events even Salvador Dali plays a part.

It could be played straight – the ultimate Hollywood biopic – or with a touch of the screwball, filtered through a Wes Anderson-esque lens. There is ambition in abundance and heart in equal measure. Ultimately though it is a tale about bread. More specifically it is about the famed bread of Poilâne, and its current custodian.

The recipe at the heart of all of this? ‘Well,’ Apollonia states simply, ‘we mix just four ingredients: the sourdough starter, water, flour and salt.’ Upon these unassuming foundations, three generations of the Poilâne family have cultivated a veritable luxury brand, renowned the world over for its sourdough rounds, or miches. Poilâne was founded by Apollonia’s grandfather Pierre in 1932 and brought to bonafide prominence by her characterful father Lionel. Over the years, the allure of the miche has seen movie stars queuing for fresh bakes if in Paris, and having them shipped around the world if not. In 1971, Salvador Dali even commissioned Lionel to sculpt an entire bedroom from bread. Elaborating on the unique, crucial component of the miche, Apollonia explains, ‘[The starter is] a piece of dough from one batch, which is left to ferment to feed the following batch.’ Hearing her speak about this unbreakable bond to past bakes, you begin to get a sense of her quiet yet intense passion for the bread itself. She acknowledges the parallels between ‘her’ Poilâne and the bread itself: both exist only as a result of their ancestral ties to that which came before them, yet here they stand new, distinct and (of course!) fresh.

Lionel had his own term for it: ‘retro-innovation’. It is an ethos that Apollonia still stands by today. ‘The term he coined, that is very powerful,’ says Apollonia. ‘What he’s trying to say is that in order to go forward you have to examine where you’ve been and why you’ve been doing things the way you have…but also challenge yourself to use the current technologies and ideas of the time.’ These words are so measured, and so softly yet firmly annunciated in her flawless American English, that you almost forget the potential for chaos that existed in Apollonia’s sudden transition from regular teenaged life to head of a globally-renowned bread-baking institution. On October 31st 2002, Lionel and Apollonia’s mother, Iréna were killed in a tragic helicopter accident. Two days later Apollonia assumed the title of CEO of Poilâne at the age of just 18.