When you bite it, it crunches. The caramelized sugar on the outside splits between your teeth, although immediately the juicy buttery-flavored interior melts on the palate. A bite that looks like a “cross between a croissant and a palm tree,” says Alberto Miragoli. This is how they explain the kouign-amannhe and his brother Guido Miragoli, to their clients from the Madrid workshop one hundred and thirty degrees. Since it opened in December 2017, this Breton pastry shares the spotlight in the display case with its coveted chocolate palms, croissants and Neapolitans and although at first it was unknown, little by little it has gained its followers. “They keep pronouncing it wrong, but they already know it,” Alberto, in charge of production, comments humorously.
Inside, a double-turn laminated puff pastry dough is spread on the sheeter waiting to be finished. Once again, the piece is passed through the machine and then a layer of sugar is spread over it before being folded again and passed for the last time. It is the final touch before cutting the portions into perfect squares whose tips are folded towards the center and baked in round molds, achieving a floral shape. The entire process takes three days. “We make a croissant dough, but instead of having 35% butter, it has 50%,” explains the owner of Cientotreinta. He learned about the preparation when he worked in San Francisco and Belgium and says that the recipe they follow differs somewhat from the traditional Breton one, which is more similar to a bread dough and is “much coarser.” They sell it for 2.50 euros; 2.70 in the case of kouign-amann filling, which
Today it is chocolate ganache, although they have also made cheese with raspberry or peanut butter and banana. “There are many followers of kouign-amann“, he maintains, about this sweet that they began to sell when practically no one did and that can now be found in many other bakeries throughout Spain, such as Hoffman (Barcelona), Panem (Madrid), Manu Jara (Seville) or 100×100 Hojaldre ( Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and even chains like Pastelería Mallorca.
There are different theories about the origin of this bun, although the exact place where it is located is clear: Douarnenez, a picturesque town in French Brittany on the shores of the Atlantic. The town's official tourism page dedicates a section to this regional sweet in which the different versions of its appearance are reviewed, although the most widespread is the one that attributes it to the baker Yves-René Scordia, who in 1860, before the large influx of customers in search of cakes, added sugar and butter to a bread dough. Today, numerous establishments in the town offer the preparation, which has become one of the most sought-after snacks by tourists and is also sold not only in individual portions as is usually seen in Spanish bakeries, but also in Cake format to share among several people. There is even an association, created by several artisans in 1997, in defense of the “true kouign-amann of Douarnenez” and the vindication of artisanal work and whose president, Alain Le Berre, assured in Le Monde, that the candy had “become nonsense” after it was filled “with strawberries, pineapple, seaweed and whipped cream.”
The association in question establishes what the characteristics are that distinguish a “true kouign-amann of Douarnenez.” Firstly, they point out the importance of the amount of sugar and butter – although they do not specify the percentage -; in addition to being made on the same day that it is consumed. Regarding its appearance, they point out that it should look caramelized and in the mouth, be a soft flaky pastry that falls apart when eaten, as well as be presented “face up and not face down, as in certain towns other than Douarnenez.” Also, in case anyone is tempted, they clarify that this bun is best served “plain” without adding fruits or any other additional ingredients.
The power of attraction of kouign-amann has even caused the Mallorca pastry chain – with nine stores in Madrid, one in Tokyo and another in Mexico City – to include it in its offer. Curiously, Pablo Moreno, production director of the workshop, learned to make it thousands of kilometers from Brittany, in New York. “I learned to do that and the cronut and, upon returning to Spain, we got to work to make them in our style,” says Moreno, who assures that the one they offer is “less sweet than usual and more airy”, using less sugar both in the folds and the base of the piece. Every day, they begin to make it between midnight and early morning so that it is ready at 6:00 a.m. and reaches the display cases in time. “It is a product that must be laminated, formed, fermented and cooked in one go. He does not accept cold rest well, therefore, it must be done directly during the day from start to finish,” he explains as a particularity. They sell the unit for 3.50 euros.
Alexis García came into contact with this bun in France, where he worked before opening his own business with Marlene Hernández in Tenerife. They have run a store there for 17 years, 100% Bread and pastries —now closed for rest— and, for a little more than one time, a cafeteria in Santa Cruz called 100×100 Hojaldre, dedicated mainly to laminated doughs. “The pastries part is going to grow much more compared to pastries,” he says on the phone, referring to a trend that is already a reality. From the beginning, in his offer there was always the kouign-amann, which, although unknown among customers at the time, became one of the most demanded pieces, ahead of even the successful filled croissants. “Hundreds were sold a day,” he remembers. Now the fever has gone down, but he continues to make it mainly on weekends with a recipe that differs somewhat from the original, his kouign-amann It is a hybrid between a brioche and a croissant and instead of placing the part with the tips folded down during baking, he leaves that side up so that they open in the oven, generating a floral shape. What is non-negotiable is the mouthfeel. “It has to have a moist and juicy interior that contrasts with the caramelization on the outside. He handicap of the Canary Islands is that the caramelization does not last long due to the humidity,” he comments with resignation.
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