We were watching a Michael Portillo ‘Great Continental Railway Journeys’ episode recently and it was showing the journey between Brest and St Brieuc. One of the visits he made was to a boulangerie where the owner made Kouign Amman. It only uses a few ingredients (pastry, butter and salt) but it sort of came with a health warning. It looked absolutely scrummy and I’m just wondering if anyone has made it and is it as good as Michael makes it out to be.
It is delicious. Our baker occasionally makes it. It needs to be eaten fresh, though. The next day, it’s really claggy.
It’s good - like many Breton recipes stuffed with great butter. But making it
, no as very hard to get right. Leave it to the boulangers.
Haven’'t made it but it is tasty.’ A heart attack on a plate.
I haven’t found it yet here in France, but I have eaten it in Montréal. It is amazing.
We are having it for dessert this evening. I love it. It is only shop bought and just needs finishing off in the oven.Life is to short to make it at home.
Paul Hollywood has a recipe. I’ve got it in one of his books somewhere. It was one of the early devilish challenges on The Great British Bakeoff.
Am I the only SFer who for a moment thought this thread was about a former Sec Gen of the UN?
It would follow a grand tradition of Joffre, Battenberg or Lamingtons I suppose.
Sugar, dont forget that sugar!
“What’s the beef, Wellington?”
Apologies in advance if this prompts a pun cascade…
It is Breton, available in pretty much every boulangerie up here, scrummy and arguably the most unhealthy thing you can possibly eat.
Having lived in the region for over 30 years I can tell you all that the taste and recipe varies on who and where it’s made. The best one we always found came from an artisan patissier in Jean Jaures in Brest and was not cheap but so full of butter you had to take tissues. My daughter has found it in a bakery in Nashville so buys one for them when they are in the city. It costs more for you to try and make it properly than you pay to buy it and Lidl also do it when they have their regions promos at around €4 for a big one, made in my old dept of 29. Don’t forget to warm it before eating!
The best I ever had was made by a Breton friend of mine many years ago, but you can find decent enough ones in supermarkets these days when they have their Breton-food weeks.
Thank you everyone for these inputs. So do you think it would be available in either HyperU or Leclerc in North Deux Sevres. And is it always known as Kouign Amman or does it have another name.
Hi Rachel, I believe I saw some in my Leclerc in north Vienne last week. So, almost certainly available ‘next door’ as well. But as it is a heart attack on a plate, I walked quickly by.
And I’ve never seen it under any other name.
Probably. I see it in Cholet in Lidl pretty often.
Well, in terms of unhealthy I think incorrectly prepared raw pufferfish, deadly night shade or death cap mushrooms are definitely less good for you.
But, of things that taste nice and won’t kill you outright, it’s certainly high up in the list ![]()