Best boulangerie/bread in Boston

I second Iggy's and Clear Flour. If he's near Jamaica Plain/Roslindale, I liked
Blue Frog Bakery for baguettes and Fornax in Roslindale for multigrain and walnut raisin.

There is a new bakery that opened in Worcester called Birch Tree, which makes really excellent, rustic, naturally leavened bread in the vein of Tartine Bakery. I haven't been to their bakery, but they have been coming to the winter Cambridge and Somerville farmers' markets, and will also go to the Davis Square farmers' market this summer.

Clear Flour bakery is definitely the best bread bakery (in my opinion) in the Boston area. I like their "ancienne" baguettes best, but the plain ones are good too. Iggy's is passable but a pretty distant second, although the convenience of buying their bread in Whole Foods is nice. I like the ficelles or epi baguettes much better than their plain baguettes. Some of the breads at Bricco (mentioned in the article sdebrango linked to) are better than Iggy's I think. I don't care for the Pan d'Avignon bread, although I've heard it was better before they expanded their operation.

In case your friend is also looking for croissants, the ones at Dwell Time in Cambridge are my favorite in the area. Area 4 also makes pretty good croissants, and the ones at Clear Flour are ok.

I sympathize with your friend -- it is possible to find good bread in the Boston area, but it takes a lot more work than in France.

Most will agree that Iggy's and Clearflour are the best bread bakers in Boston proper. Both are classically trained in French bread making and have had their businesses for ~30 years.
In Cambridge/Harvard Square and Boston/Beacon Hill, Savenor's is a high end grocery and they carry baguettes from all the companies i've mentioned here.
There is a bakery owned by French bakers, Pain d'Avignon , on Cape Cod. There is also a French owned Patisserie/Cafe in Boston's South End, Cafe Madeleine. And there are French trained bakers in Salem MA at A&J King. Both sell
at Savenor's.













Clearflour has one location-in Brookline. Iggy's is sold in many stores, including all the Whole Foods.

Clearflower

Found this http://www.bostonmagazine.com/best-of-boston/2013/award/bread-bakery/