MONTREAL -- For those who crave kouign-amann, the buttery pastry from northwestern France, a Plateau bakery has spent decades perfecting their recipe.
Au Kouign-Amann has been open on Mont-Royal Ave. for nearly 30 years. Chef and owner Nicolas Henri says the delicacy from the French region of Brittany is aptly named.
“Kouign means cake and amann means butter in Brittany,” he said.
The origins of the recipe are a mystery but he believes it was invented by mothers living on farms with their families and was later appropriated by bakers.
The ingredients are simple: flour, salt, water and yeast. The dough is then left to rise and is rolled with a pound of butter. Henri then layers it in sugar, kneading and folding the dough repeatedly to make sure the butter and sugar are evenly spread.
Once in the pan, the treat is enveloped in a sugar syrup and is then baked for 45 minutes.
While Au Kouign-Amann does sell other pastries, like pain au chocolat and croissants, their namesake is their specialty. Ironically, Henri didn’t grow up in Brittany: he’s from Normandy and had never heard of the pastry until he moved to Montreal.
