Kouig amann from One Hundred and Thirty
The desire we have to shelve 2020 is insurmountable. And although we still have a long way to go, we have always been full of resolutions and plans for the coming new year.
2021 is promised as a year of hope, of recovering, little by little, everything that the year of the pandemic has been taking away from us. What better than starting it with a trend that is revolutionizing the world of pastry?
Is named kouign-amann and, although in other latitudes it has been triumphing for a while, it is now when we begin to see it in the national bakeries. Perhaps it also sounded faintly familiar to you, because it is what Amélie prepares in a moment of her homonymous film between tears.
It comes from Brittany and in its Celtic language, kouign means brioche or cake and amann translates as butter. It's crunchy on the outside, caramelized and sugary, and so ethereal and juicy on the inside, it almost melts in your mouth. That's how it is the butter bun you have to try in 2021.
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THE ORIGINS OF KOUIGN AMANN
It was precisely there in northwestern France and in waters lapped by the Atlantic, where a sweet was born. As in all the origins of different creations, there are hundreds of stories that surround them. What researchers have agreed on is that It comes from Finisterre, that place that, literally, is the end of the Earth.
There, in the town of Douarnenez and specifically around the year 1860, a baker named Yves-René Scordia created this sweet by chance. How it happened? On a particularly busy day, ran out of desserts to sell and with what was left over from the bread dough, he combined rolling (the technique used to make croissants) and large doses of sugar.
The result? A dough with a sugary and caramelized crust and a buttery interior similar to that of a croissant. Voila! He had created the kouign amann.
'Kouign' means brioche or cake and 'amann' translates as butter
At that time, Scordia did not think to protect his creation and in the years to come, other cities in Brittany were scoring the point. Until 1999, the year in which the local pastry chefs themselves wanted to preserve the tradition and their heritage.
To do this, they created a kouign amann association, an IGP and a label that would distinguish the true kouig amann from Douarnenez from the rest.
How does it have to be then, according to them, the perfect bun? They go further and even describe the characteristics of the perfect kouig amann. Quality first, you have to use a certain percentage of butter and sugar, It must be fresh and prepared from the day and its presentation must show a perfect caramelized.
THE KOUIGN AMANN'S JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD, UNTIL ARRIVING IN MADRID
His popularity spread like wildfire. First he did it through Brittany and then they reached Paris and other large French cities. Then to the whole world.
It even made the leap to the other side of the pond, becoming popular and the reason for pilgrimages for patisseries such as Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, B.Patisserie in San Francisco or Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York.
Precisely the latter, also French and creator of the cronut, positioned himself as one of the world references of kouig amann outside the borders of the 'Hexagon' , as they also call France. His bun even has its own name, the DKA (Dominique's Kouign Amann) and is the best seller in all its store locations.
Both places created a school, so much so that two of the best kouign amann that can be tasted in Madrid were discovered there. Alberto and Guido Miragoli, in charge of the workshop One hundred thirty , started their adventure three years ago now, in December 2017.
Just as they opened, they conquered Madrid with their breads and sweets, so much so that In May of this strange 2020 they opened a new space in the Mercado de la Paz and were crowned the 'Best Bread in Madrid 2020' in the contest held in November at the Club Matador.
If there is something that defines them perfectly, it is the quality with which they work and the effort they put into each of their creations, including the kouig amann. “I was educated in the United States and the teacher I had, michel suas , was the co-founder of a San Francisco patisserie, B.Patisserie. It became very fashionable there. They were the promoters of this piece of pastry in the city”, explains Alberto Miragoli to Traveler.es.
Half a year after opening the first Cientotreinta workshop, they included the Breton bun among their proposals
“I also worked in London and later in Belgium, we produced it in the restaurant. The problem is that all the ones I tried were like revisited visions, not like the original. They used to be bigger, like a pie to share, and a lot less crispy,” she continues.
Thus, half a year after opening the first Cientotreinta workshop, they included the Breton bun among his proposals and since then, it is a staple and one of the best sellers.
“We use the croissant dough, but in the puff pastry process, instead of putting 30% butter with respect to the weight of the dough, which is what is used for the croissant, we put 50%, which is outrageous, but that's why it's so rich”, he points out.
They manage to put the sugar inside the puff pastry, so it infiltrates inside the dough and covers the outside, so that when you bake it, The entire exterior part caramelizes and remains very crunchy and the interior creates a buttery syrup giving rise to a highly addictive set of textures. “It's not the healthiest dessert, but we like to say that these things generate endorphins and that's good too,” he laughs.
Alberto and Guido Miragoli, in charge of the One Hundred and Thirty workshop
From the second of the schools, that of Dominique Ansel, Pablo Moreno learned the recipe for kouign amann. Together with his brother Jacobo, he is in charge of Majorcan pastry. Just a month ago we told you everything we saw in his workshop, which opened for us on the verge of turning 90 years old.
The history of Mallorca began with a tortel and today, almost a century later, it also includes new trends and daring bets such as the cronut or the kouign amann.
“Reading about its origin and curiosities, we saw that in many places they called it the 'baker's croissant', because many times it was made with leftover bread and it is the perfect complement for all the boutique bakeries that are emerging”, they explain.
The kouig amann from Pastry Mallorca
Two years ago Pablo was studying in New York and it was then that they began to test the bun, which includes this same 2020 among his proposals.
“It is a laminated dough, such as a croissant, with butter. We start from a much more neutral dough, similar to that of bread. When it is being laminated, butter is added in a proportion of 50% and sugar in the last round. What this brings is caramelization” , explain the Moreno brothers.
The result is a crispy kouign amann from the sugar, as well as melting because of the amount of butter they carry.
“It works great, but in Spain it is difficult to sell for two reasons. The first is that it is super unknown and the second, because of the name, which is almost unpronounceable”, they maintain. Still, his wins. They started making about 100 units that they distributed among the stores. Now, many days they are making more than 500 pieces.
“Another thing that few people know is that it has to be a fresh bun of the day. Once you laminate it, as it carries the sugar in the last round, if that dough is left to rest or frozen, the sugar would turn into liquid, soak the dough and you would never get the final result. In our case It has forced us to incorporate a night shift just to prepare it”, they continue.
And they end up making a reflection: “It is clear that the trend is to bet on flavors of very marked raw materials, in this case caramelization and butter, and not so French-inspired aesthetics. In appearance it may seem ugly or coarse, but everyone who tries it is surprised.”
Ricardo Vélez's passion for pastry comes from afar. He says that his mother gave him a children's recipe book and it was then that she caught the bug. After training and working in different establishments, in 2006 he opened his dream, Moulin Chocolat, one of the greatest exponents of pastry in the country.
Theirs is edible art and among delicate tartlets, macarons, éclairs, one of the best croissants in town, financiers and sweets with a French accent, there is also room for the kouig amann, which they have been preparing for years. Now you will also find it in your ice cream parlor Maison Glacée , with two locations in the city.
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At Moulin Chocolat they have been preparing kouig amann for years