There are the well-kept secrets, the obligatory stops and those that are worth the detour. There are above all essentials of all kinds that are good to share. For the pleasure of your palates, The duty therefore imagined an appointment in the form of a gourmet notebook, one theme at a time. Crunchy puff pastry, generously buttered, just sweet enough; the kouign-amann – a Breton specialty and a nice tongue twister! — is the cousin of the croissant and the brioche. To find out, here are 10 addresses that offer tasty creations.
MONTREAL
At Potter’s
An outstanding address for its croissants – which we praised in this column – Chez Potier retains the top of the podium when it comes to kouign-amann. With nameless accuracy, the pastry comes in two versions: the traditional one with bread dough and the more modern variant with croissant dough. What make you want to compare the two! Like Chef Olivier Potier’s creations, everything is prepared with quality ingredients, starting with Cow’s cultured butter, made in Prince Edward Island, and flour from Moulins de Soulanges. , in Montérégie. Caramelized with brown sugar, seasoned with fleur de sel, the tender and crunchy dough leaves us speechless. Offered only on Saturday and Sunday.
630 Wellington Street
Kouign Amann
It’s not an institution that wants to, but when it comes to kouign-amann – literally butter cake – the establishment lives up to its name. For more than 30 years, they have mastered the art of turning to create the traditional kouign-amann: a bread dough filled with butter and sugar, baked in a large round mold, then cut into wedges. We are treated to a very airy dough that delights the taste buds just like the hint of salt that elevates all the flavors up a notch. To learn or have fun, the place is choice.
316 Mount Royal Avenue East
Lescurier
The Lescurier pastry shop and chocolate factory has been a well-known address in the Outremont district since 1988. When pastry chef Alex Platel took over the business in 2019, he renewed the classics, offering a more contemporary touch to pastries and other pastries. Obviously, the kouign-amann is not left out. Its perfectly sweet croissant base is baked according to the initial recipe, sometimes with an addition of apple or even with pistachio. The lucky ones will come across the day when there are maple kouign-amann… A treasure that disappears like hot rolls (of butter)!
Two addresses: 1333, avenue Van Horne and 3444, rue Masson
Bakery De Fromentet de Sève
A classic among classics for sourdough bread and apple pie, this bakery in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie is also one of the best places to taste a kouign-amann. Here too, it’s a croissant dough baked in individual molds that serves as a base to sublimate the butter and sugar. Each bite, both caramelized and melting, makes you want to come back again and again. The kind of small snack you take before crossing to the cinema for an afternoon movie.
2355 Beaubien Street East
O Breton
A cute gourmet stopover, O Breton, at the corner of avenue du Mont-Royal and rue de la Roche! Not only is the service cordial and warm, but they serve authentic Breton crêpes in addition to offering wines, Quebec ciders and grocery products imported from Brittany. The new star for two years is the kouign-amann: beautiful butter cakes baked individually and made with bread dough as is still done in Douarnenez, its place of origin. It must be said that the owner, Cyril Biehlé, has great pleasure in spreading the sweets of his hometown to the metropolis. Available from Friday afternoon.
1201A Mont-Royal Avenue East
QUEBEC
The Croquembouche
The bakery in the Saint-Roch district is filled with sweets like an Ali Baba’s cave. Among the favorites of the place, the kouign-amann sits between the garnished croissant and the apple turnover. It is prepared here with puff pastry and a mixture of sugar and tourage butter. When cooked, this mixture becomes melting, offering a perfect texture inside. We rush there as soon as possible for more freshness and even faster during sugaring off for the maple version!
225 Saint-Joseph Street East
The bread box
A classic destination in the capital, especially for its croissants and bánh mì, La Boîte à pain also offers a delicious version of kouign-amann. Also using puff pastry — a more accessible option in a bakery — baked individually, the result is among the most successful in the batch of tastings: soft and melting texture, with just the right amount of crunch. And the portion is generous, you have been warned!
Four addresses, including the one in the Limoilou district, at 396, 3e Avenue
The Billig
A popular destination for its crêpes and other Breton specialties, the crêperie-bistro Billig takes the irresistible character of kouign-amann up a notch by serving it with homemade vanilla ice cream and salted butter caramel. The piece de resistance, the chef’s creation — and of Breton origin! — Yves Le Liboux, is made from traditional bread dough. Its balance of flavors combined with the smoothness of the cream that melts just enough, that’s enough to feed the desire to come back. No wonder kouign-amann has been one of the takeout stars during the pandemic and the need for comfort that came with it.
481 St. John Street
CHAUDIÈRE-APPALACHES
The Golden Spike
Arrived in Montmagny in 1994, the Breton Yann Texier remembers the tastings of kouign-amann that he did when he became a baker three years later. It was the time of the Montignac regime and people fled at the sight of his pure butter cake, he recalls. Especially since this specialty did not exist anywhere in the region. Even Mr. Texier groped his way through the rules of classic kouign-amann, observing and questioning his friends and fellow bakers here and there when he returned to his native region. Her lightly fermented bread dough is topped with “everything ordinary” white sugar and butter. He also makes an apple version. After 20 years of cakes being rolled out every day, Mr. Texier remains very humble about the reasons for his popularity, but happily prides himself on seeing his kouign-amann chosen each year by the neighboring school for the annual fundraising campaign. Note: Mr. Texier suggests a kouign-amann and dry cider pairing or serving it with an espresso.
129 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street East, Montmagny
NORTH COAST
La P’tite Cochonne Bakery
The flagship product of Éric Maillet and Chantal Pinel’s bakery, kouign-amann underwent five years of testing and fine-tuning before receiving Mr. Maillet’s seal of satisfaction. Originally from the south of France, he did not know this delicacy at all before reading an article that mentioned it. It is mouth watering that he gave himself the challenge to create. Its base of bread dough fermented between 24 to 72 hours gives a dimension to the flavors that explode in the mouth. Not surprising to learn that more than a hundred kouign-amann find takers every day. Definitely an address to note in your notebook. The bakery will reopen in June for the summer season.
482, rue de la Mer, Grandes-Bergeronnes