pain

A typical "baguette".
Excellent when it's fresh but be careful, it keeps for one day.
It has a crunchy "croute".
Une couronne : a different name only because of the shape of the bread.

Bread is crunchy with a real crust. If you want a soft bread, then you need some "pain de mie".
How to use it ?
In France, we eat "pain" for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At least one slice per person, but you can have as many as you want.
We eat "pain" with nearly all kind of food except when it's too heavy like a quiche, pizza, pasta and desserts.
Never forget "pain" when you have a salad, vegetables, meat or fish, cheese.
But don't worry, if you don't really know when you should serve bread and you have guests, just make sure there's always enough bread on the table.
See the breakfast list
See the pain / bread list