In Breton, they might say, “Blasphemy!” I say, “Bonus!”
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La Maison du Kouign-Amann
Open: Weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Prices: $3.75 for one kouign-amann, $16.75 for five kouign-amann
The more kouign-amann pastries that I try, the more confused I get. Fortunately, it’s a very tasty kind of bafflement.
In the last two years, I’ve had differing versions of this sugary, buttery treat, which hails from Brittany in northwestern France, circa 1870, from various bakeries, in Montreal, San Francisco and Ottawa.
Sorting out all the kinds of kouignoù-amann, as the plural is known in Breton, can be harder than spelling and saying the pastry’s name. It’s pronounced “queen-a-man.” You’re welcome.
At Montreal’s Kouign-Amann Bakery, which has been making its namesake pastries for more than 30 years, kouignoù-amann are disc-shaped cakes with a thin shell that come in various sizes. It is made of just flour, butter, and sugar, says the Montreal bakery’s website, and “its balance between butter and sugar makes all the difference.”
The website continues: “Kouign-amann is intended to be caramelized, flaky, soft, and melting in the mouth.” Naturally, I take no issue with this mission statement.
Perhaps these Montreal kouignoù-amann are the most authentic, closest to what the baker Yves-René Scordia reportedly concocted in the town of Douarnenez around 1860. The name of the pastry comes from the Breton-language words for “bread” (kouign) and “butter” (amann). And with that fact should come a warning: In 2011, the New York Times described the kouign-amann as “the fattiest pastry in all of Europe.”
But it doesn’t do you much good if I tell you to go to Montreal or San Francisco for a treat. Fortunately, there’s La Maison du Kouign-Amann, tucked away in a strip mall on Schneider Road in Kanata.
At La Maison du Kouign-Amann, which does sell a lot more than just kouignoù-amann, those star pastries are single-serving-sized, roughly the size of a hockey puck. It may even be more correct to call them “kouignettes,” as I’ve read online, something akin to a muffin-shaped, caramelized goody of layered dough, butter and sugar, related, you might say, to puff pastry or to a croissant.
Indeed, Josée McKenzie, who just took over last month as a co-owner of La Maison du Kouign-Amann, likens them to “flaky, caramelized croissants.”
She had never had a kouign-amann before the store’s founder and owner, Fran Brown, taught her how to make them. “I think I’ve had way too many since,” McKenzie said.
In another break with tradition, the Kanata store adds toppings to its kouign-amann pastries, including salted caramel, lemon, Nutella, and raspberry. In Breton, they might say, “Blasphemy!” I say, “Bonus!”
Ultimately, it’s a good thing that the kouign-amann police haven’t cracked down on iterations made beyond Brittany. Authenticity is a virtue, but innovation can be virtuous too. I’ll leave it for you to taste and decide for yourself with a visit to Kanata’s kouign-amann outpost.
Do you have a favourite place to get a little treat in Ottawa? Send Peter Hum an e-mail to share your picks.