Every scratch across it came from a knife and a loaf of bread. Collected around the Rhône-Alpes, this board carries a short handle drilled to hang, its shoulders curving up to meet it, and a groove cut all the way around the edge to catch the crumbs and juices. Every French kitchen kept a board like it, the planche à pain, cut for the daily loaf and carried to the table with the bread, worn a little deeper with every meal. Sylvie leans it against the kitchen wall when it is not in use, and lays it out with bread and cheese when it is.
