Breton specialties | Our guide to sweet & savory flavors
Between land and sea, Brittany forged a culinary universe, where salty butter, buckwheat and Atlantic spray play the first roles. When we talk about Breton specialties, we immediately think of pancakes, cakes, cider or to the famous Kouign-amann. But behind these postcard images hides a genuine greedy culture, made of local products, know-how and family stories. In this article, we offer a guided trip through the Gourmet Brittany, salted butter in Kouign-amann, through the caramel with salted butter, far breton, the cakes and theandouille de Guémane.
Brittany Gourmet: Breton specialties, salted butter in Kouign-Amann
Reading time: ~ 9 min. Table of contents
- Understand the soul of Breton specialties
- Salted butter with salted butter caramel
- The great sweet Breton specialties
- Briton specialties salty not to be missed
- How to discover the Breton specialties even at a distance
- Mini FAQ on Breton specialties
Understand the soul of Breton specialties
A terroir between Armor and Argoat
To grasp what makes the identity of Breton specialties, you have to look at the region itself. Brittany is divided between the Armor (the coast) and the Argoat (the inside of the land). On the coast, the sea provides fish, crustaceans, scallops and oysters. Inside, livestock, cereal crops like buckwheat and a large dairy pool have shaped a nourishing, simple cuisine but rich in taste.
This double influence explains that we pass easily, during the same meal, of seafood to a buckwheat gambled, then with a very buttered dessert accompanied by cider. Brittany is not just a flat card, it is a balance between raw products and a slaughter.
The founding role of salt butter
The salted butter is one of the strongest markers of the Breton cuisine. Historically, the salt was used to keep butter longer, valuable in a region facing dairy farming and open to salt trade. In everyday cuisine as in the most famous pastries, the salty butter is everywhere: it gives relief to the preparations, this point of character that distinguishes a Breton cake or a house caramel of a more neutral version.
We generally distinguish soft butter, half salt butter and salted butter according to the amount of salt. Brittany is clearly located on the side of the taste for salty, with a dosage that reinforces the milky perfume of butter without masking it. It is this butter that becomes the basis of a good part of the Breton, sweet as salty specialties.
Salted butter with salted butter caramel
How is salted butter
The butter is obtained from whole cream that we baratte until the fat separates from whey. The butter grains are then gathered, washed and kneaded. To obtain a salt butter, the salt is added at this stage. In Brittany, salt sometimes comes from salt marshes from the Atlantic facade, reinforcing the link between land and sea on the plate.
At home, it is possible to prepare a flavored salted butter from a good quality butter: work the butter at room temperature with fine salt and if you want, add very Breton keys like Roscoff onion, Salicorn, roasted buckwheat or even dried algae.
The caramel with salted butter: contemporary sweet emblem
If the pancakes and Kouign-amann are older, the salted butter caramel has become a modern symbol of Breton Galmandise. It associates a caramel of sugar cooked, sometimes dry, with salted butter then to cream. This trio offers a smooth texture and a balanced flavor between softness, milky roundness and seal.
This caramel tablecloths pancakes, perfume ice, garnish candies or chocolates, and is even invited into more creative recipes like bakeds on the plate or restaurant desserts. For a non-French palace, it is often one of the easiest entrance doors to Breton specialties.
The great sweet Breton specialties
Kouign-amann : douarnenez emblem
Born in the nineteenthemail century in Douarnenez (Finistère), the Kouign-amann literally means "butter cake" in Breton (kouign = cake, Amann = butter). Originally, it was a bread dough enriched with a lot of butter and sugar, then folded several times to get a caramelized laminate. The result: a dense pastry, crispy outdoors and mellow inside, renowned very caloric but unforgettable.
Today, there are individual versions or to share, sometimes revisited with additional perfumes, but the spirit remains. To appreciate it as in Brittany, enjoy slightly lukewarm, nature or with a glass of cider.
Far Breton, Breton cake and other sweets
Far Breton has a texture between the flan and clafoutis: single eggs, milk, flour and sugar, salacious butter enriched. The best-known version is lined with prunes, but there are also "nature" furs. Served in thick slices, it keeps well and is easily transported.
The Breton cake is a shortbread paste very rich in buttered butter in a thick and gold disk, often decorated with braces. Its melting and slightly friable side, statement of the tip of salt, makes one of the best ambassadors of Breton butter. You can also quote Breton plets, lace pancakes or shortbread cookies, all founded on the trio flour-salt-sugar butter.
Briton specialties salty not to be missed
Sarrasin pancakes and pancakes
In the eyes of the world, pancakes are perhaps the most common picture of Brittany. You have to distinguish the wheat pancake, rather sweet, of the buckwheat galette (or black wheat), typically salt. The buckwheat cake, naturally gluten free, offers a grilled cereal flavor. Garnished with egg, ham, cheese or more creative ingredients like the Saint-Jacques shells or the Andouille de Guémane, it is a complete dish.
The wheat pancakes, more flexible and slightly sweet, can be enjoyed by dessert or snack, topped with caramel with salt butter, sugar, jam or chocolate. In traditional creperies, we usually accompany these crepes and ciderbow cakes.
Andouille de Guémené, Galette Sauscketing and other classics
The Andouille de Guémane is one of the most famous Breton charcuteries. Originally from Guémené-sur-Scorff, she recognizes her cup in concentric circles. Composed of carefully cleaned casing, then fluffy and smoothly cooked, it develops a powerful and smoke flavor. It is served sliced, grilled or thin washers in a buckwheat cake.
Another street specialty: La Galette sausage, a grilled pork sausage wrapped in a buckwheat cake, inseparable from popular festivals and football matches.
Cider, Chouchen and Food Accords / beverages
Can not evoke Breton specialties without talking about drinks. The cider, obtained by fermentation of apple juice, comes in crude versions, half-dry or soft. Served in bowls, it is ideally married with pancakes and cakes.
The Chouchen is a Breton hydromel from the fermentation of honey diluted in the water, sometimes with addition of apple juice. More alcoholic than cider, he can taste as an aperitif or digestive. For example, combine a raw cider with a cake rich in cheese and charcuterie, and a soft cider at a dessert like the FAR or Kouign-amann.
How to discover the Breton specialties even at a distance
If you live out of France, it is not always easy to travel in Brittany as often as you wish. Yet several solutions exist: locate the creperies held by Bretons in your country; Many fine grocery stores now offer cookies, caramels with salted butter, canned fish or craft ciders; Finally, some dishes like pancakes, cakes or Far Breton are well-completed with good recipes and quality ingredients.
Mini FAQ on Breton specialties
Are Breton specialties all very rich in butter ?
The salted butter is actually very present, especially in pastries and cookies. However, Breton cuisine also includes many sea products, vegetables and revenue based on buckwheat that can be lighter. It all depends on the dishes you choose.
What is the difference between Breton Crêpe and Galette ?
In Brittany, we are talking about crepe for the sweet version made from wheat flour and galette for the salt version based on buckwheat flour. Texture, color and trim differ, even if the shape remains similar.
Is Kouign-Amann still the same everywhere in Brittany ?
The base remains the same (raised dough, a lot of butter and sugar), but every bakery has its turn, its cooking time and sometimes its favorite shape. Douarnenez claims the historic origin of Kouign-amann, but we find today throughout the region.
What will taste first if I do not yet know the Breton specialties ?
For a first overview: a garnished buckwheat (egg, ham, cheese or andouille of Guémane), a caramel crepe with salted butter, a piece of Kouign-amann and a glass of raw cider. This quartet already offers a very representative vision.
Conclusion
Gourmet Brittany is thus like a real landscape of flavors, where salty butter, buckwheat, caramel, smoke and cider charcuteries make up a single culinary identity. To go further, discover our selection dedicated to Breton products and sweets on Very Gourmand and prolong the taste trip at home.
Andouille from Guéméné ±900g
