Talking pastry with the Bay Area’s king of kouign amann

Bay Area residents who have developed a fondness for kouign amann (truth be told, it’s a dangerous obsession, right?) know that we haven’t always had this crisp, caramelly version of a French croissant in our lives.

It took a cultural anthropologist from Rhode Island, by way of Washington state, to introduce us to the “butter cake” from France’s Brittany region.

That would be Brian Wood, the founder of the East Bay’s Starter Bakery, who has been hailed as a pastry pioneer. He debuted his first kouign amann at a pop-up in 2010. “We sold 350 in two hours, but it was exhausting,” he said. “I needed to explain to people what they were.”

For our French-focused Eat Drink Play for the Paris Olympics, we talked with Wood about his culinary journey from pop-up to wholesale and retail operations. What’s next for this king of kouign amann? He isn’t ready to divulge his expansion plans yet, but they are likely to make a lot of East Bay residents very happy.

Q How many times do you figure you’ve had to pronounce kouign amann? 

A Many thousands! I usually say, “Like Queen of England and Amman, Jordan.”

Q Do you remember the first kouign amann you ate?

A Yes, I had been teaching at the San Francisco Baking Institute for a few years and would hear of the pastry occasionally, that it was really challenging to make. I tasted one in 2006 at Fauchon in New York City. I was just blown away by the flavor.

Q And how did you start baking these pastries? Was it indeed challenging?

A I received a call from the editor of “Modern Baking” wanting to know if I would write three articles for 2009. I did and committed one to be on kouign amann, figuring I’d have to learn it. I researched all of the reference formulas I could (not finding more than several … and, all in French) and then did some conversions for U.S. flour and then dove into the process. I tweaked my starting formula a few times and figured out how to process the dough without turning into a goopy mess of melted sugar. I still use the same formula to this day.

Q How does a kouign amann differ from a croissant? 

A It’s like a croissant, but it’s traditionally made with salted butter and layered with sugar and baked in a pan that’s lined with butter and sugar. The lining of the pan gives it such a unique caramelly crust. The amount of butter influences the texture, which influences the taste.

Q What makes for a great kouign amann?

A There should be salty elements, sweet elements, caramelly elements, buttery elements.

Q Talk about the creativity of filled kouign amann.

A The seasonal ones are so much fun with the amazing produce we have in the Bay Area. We’ve made filled KA ever since our first pop-up in 2010. The retail store has allowed us to evolve on that with added toppings and garnishes. The team is really excited about seasonality and pairing flavors and textures with the pastry. We use different house-made fillings like frangipanes, ganaches, caramelized nuts and seasonal fruits like Blossom Bluff Orchards peaches, berries, pears.