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15 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,January 31,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC. Start saving with the free app featuring Ready, Set, Save! with SHOP 40 + BRANDS IN 18 STORE LOCATIONS ACROSS CANADA &ONLINE Upgrade your Fridge! #SavingWithSave Find these great deals and more at Save.ca When you make a bread, pasta or pizza dough, you use water to integrate the particles of the flour. With some elbow grease and some time, the activity pro- duces quite a delicious re- sult, as eating freshly baked and still-warm bread will tell you. However, when you add fat to the flour, then you have something that is even more magical - pastry. Into that magical catego- ry falls the little-known Breton pastry kouign- amann (pronounced "queen amahn"), the flakey cake that is likely made in only one bakery in Water- loo Region, Ambrosia Cor- ner Bakery. The business recently moved from Water- loo to the Central Frederick neighbourhood of down- town Kitchener. The kouign-amann is a member of a class of pastries called laminated doughs. Essentially a crois- sant with yeasted dough and butter, the kouign- amann has lots of sugar, which helps produce a thick, chewy-crunchy and caramelized morsel. "Traditionally, it's about eight to 10 inches in diame- ter and flat. The first time I had it in Montreal, I said, 'Whoa! This is a really dif- ferent taste and texture be- cause of the carameliza- tion,'" says Ambrosia owner Aura Hertzog. So, she started making them in a smaller version than that of Breton. The difference in the in- gredients comes down to ra- tio. "There's way more but- ter," says Hertzog. "There's a lot more sugar too, so that when it cooks you still get a lot layers, but not the big open layers like a croissant. You get that carameliza- tion." The dough is shaped into a circle and then Hertzog pulls over the edges in four spots and gently pushes down on the pastry after it proofs. "It then looks like a flower," she says. Other true bakers in the area could make kouign- amann, but Hertzog cites a camaraderie and a network among them, perhaps like the ancient guild system. "There's a respect that's giv- en," she says. "I'm not mak- ing a cruffin, for instance, because that is Golden Hearth's territory, and they're amazing. But we sell their bread here on Thurs- days." Customers unfamiliar with the pastry are immedi- ately impressed. "You can't really describe it until you've had one," she says. "People are familiar with a wide range of croissants, but this is very different." However, kouign-amann are difficult and time-con- suming to make, which is one reason they're only available Thursday to Sat- urday. "We start making them on Monday with a pre- ferment," says Hertzog. The many folds in the dough- making process are done by hand rather than with a dough sheeter. "Not to men- tion how expensive butter is now," she adds. As for whether she pre- fers the kouign-amann to the croissant, Hertzog won't say. "They both have their place," she says, answering as if she's been asked to choose her favourite kid. "The kouign-amann is definitely more of an indul- gence. It also has a longer shelf life and tastes great even a couple of days later, unlike a croissant." Andrew Coppolino is a columnist and food writer in Waterloo Region. More of his work can be found at www.waterlooregioneat- s.com. The kouign-amann at Ambrosia Corner Bakery. Andrew Coppolino photo DON'T SKIP THIS DISH: KOUIGN-AMANN AT AMBROSIA CORNER BAKERY OPINION A 'THICK, CHEWY- CRUNCHY AND CARAMELIZED MORSEL,' WRITES ANDREW COPPOLINO ANDREW COPPOLINO Column