Now for restaurants and kouign-amann.
Kouign-amann first. There are two types of kouign-amann, the Douarnenez version (pie-like) and the Abers version from Northwestern Finistère, very flat and baked in large trays. As it goes, people from the Abers tend to claim that theirs is the best but I hope there aren’t any of them reading this right now for I’m likely to be bombed with raw cauliflowers through my windows. To tell the truth, I find it rather dull and sugary. The Douarnenez version has now been imitated by boulangers throughout Brittany and is generally very good. Now there are two families within this one: the traditional version, based on bread dough, and the more recent version based on croissant dough, created (so I’ve heard) by a boulanger in La Forêt-Fouesnant. They look somewhat alike but they’re very different in crispiness, the croissant-based one being lighter and less chewy. I can’t tell which is my favorite, both are delicious. It is also the only dough base that gives good results with the roll-up-and-cut-then bake “kouignette” version, while the bread-based version is jut not fit for this treatment.
Wherever you are in Brittany, and even in Paris since Georges Larnicol makes excellent traditional KA, look for the shiny surface. If the surface isn’t shiny, chances are that the KA won’t be great. The surface should be like a skating rink of buttery caramel. BTW Larnicol’s kouignettes never were my thing but his regular-sized KA are very decent.
