Rice "Bread" by Apollonia Poilâne

When I started to think about the similarities between rice and bread, and how in Japan rice is served with every meal as bread is in France, I imagined a combination of the two.

MAKES ONE 8-INCH (20-CM) ROUND “LOAF”; SERVES 6 TO 8

When I started to think about the similarities between rice and bread, and how in Japan rice is served with every meal as bread is in France, I imagined a combination of the two: a “slice” of rice that could be held in the hand like a slice of bread and eaten alongside all the things bread typically accompanies, from stews to a juicy roast chicken.

The key to having the slices stay intact is to not rinse the rice before cooking it. This, plus the inherent stickiness of sushi rice, binds the “bread.” While I have used a round cake pan in the recipe below, you can use a loaf pan to make sandwich-style slices if you like.