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Favorite tradi in Caen
Favorite tradi in Caen
A little blurb about baguettes.
So far, the top tradi is
Tartines et Gourmandises
Tartines et Gourmandises
(20 r Froide)
Considered to be the best bakery in Caen by many -- and for good reason! All their breads are leavened with sourdough starter (au levain) and perhaps everything including pastries is baked in a wood-fired oven -- on some days you taste the smokiness more than other days), and all baked to golden brown (sometimes a bit burnt, too). What makes their baguette so good:
flavor: whole-wheaty, floral quality of dough fermentation/yeast
perfectly balanced (not too dry, not overhydrated) alveolated texture
crunchy crust with a bit of resistance and chew, but not too chewy
The bakeries tested:
quartier Saint-Gilles (east-side, near Abbaye aux Dames)
La Bibavou (127 av Georges Clemenceau)
Lelièvre Alain (1 pl Saint-Gilles)
La Fournée du Clos Herbert (26 r du Clos Herbert)
center + quartier Vaugueux (near Château and historical center/pedestrian zones)
Aux Délices de Saint Jean (196 r Saint-Jean)
Aux Délices Normands (133 r Saint-Jean)
Banette Saveurs (52 r Saint-Jean)
Maison Toulorge (98 r Saint-Jean)
Le Pain de Marcel (9 Place Saint-Sauveur)
Péan (55 r Saint-Pierre)
le P'tit Chou Normand (65 r Saint-Pierre)
Aux Normandises (104 r Saint-Pierre)
Tartines et Gourmandises (20 r Froide)
Mariatte & Fils (52 r du Vaugueux)
La Huche Caennaise (2 r Basse)
quartier Hastings (west end)
Calou (28 r Caponière)
quartier Calvaire St PIerre (northwest end)
Le Coeur Gourmand (11 av de la Côte de Nacre)
Favorite pains au levain (sourdough breads)
Favorite pains au levain (sourdough breads)
blurb on sourdough
(52 r Saint-Jean, near the center at the edge of the pedestrian zone)
Tiny bakery where the flaky distinct layers in their puff pastry is the first thing that caught my attention and for its specialty breads such as their beet baguette or apple juice sourdough -- wait, did someone say sourdough?
They have several sourdough breads -- two of which I have tried and worth trying a few more times: the apple juice sourdough and the multigrain sourdough bread.
(52 r du Vaugueux, their location across from the Château on the Vagueux neighborhood side)
Wonderful, very sourdoughy tang, very alveolated -- in particular, try their pain au maïs (bread with starchy corn kernels).
(bât Etincelle A 2 rue Hubertine Auclert, 14610 Épron)
This bakery/pastry shop/wood-fired pizzeria/trattoria has beautiful breads, including high hydration sourdough breads with a mild tang (the bread of the month in October 2021 was the Pain Normand, an apple and apple-cider, very high hydration sourdough batard. Yum.)
Just a note: although all the breads at Tartines et Gourmandises are sourdough-starter based, they do not have the distinctive tang of sourdough breads.
The bakeries tested:
quartier Saint-Gilles (east-side, near Abbaye aux Dames)
La Bibavou (127 av Georges Clemenceau)
La Fournée du Clos Herbert (26 r du Clos Herbert)
Lelièvre Alain (1 pl Saint-Gilles)
center + quartier Vaugueux (near Château and historical center/pedestrian zones)
Pâtisserie Saveurs (52 r Saint-Jean)
Péan (55 r Saint-Pierre)
Tartines et Gourmandises (20 r Froide)
Mariatte & Fils (52 r du Vaugueux)
Other bakeries tested:
Luc-sur-Mer
Au P'tit Paradis (1 pl du Petit Enfer)
Épron
Boulangerie pâtisserie Marini (bât Etincelle A 2 rue Hubertine Auclert, 14610 Épron)
I'm slowly retasting everything, but with a bit more detail and photos :-P
Lelièvre Alain
(loc: Abbaye aux Dames)
Their only sourdough bread is the pain de campagne.
crust: wonderful, crunchy, caramelized notes
aroma: notable but faint whiffs of sourdough but mostly of moisture and slight smell of overproofed dough
crumb: slight spring but rather dense; appears to be a bit damp and battedinto shape only once (no layers but a small center cavity)
Lelièvre's pain de campagne, sliced
flavor: tastes slightly overproofed, rather bland with a hint of sourdough; burnt caramel notes of crust dominate
overall: the crust makes up for the overproofed taste that I suspect has lead to a dense bread that is rather heavy on digestion. 5/10
Favorite croissants
Favorite croissants
Read A little blurb about croissants.
in Caen:
Tartines et Gourmandises
Tartines et Gourmandises
(20 r Froide, Caen center)
A bit rustic-looking and would probably not get too many brownie points for its shape from Bruno Cormerais, but look at those layers at least on the edges! Perhaps the layers are not as defined in the inner parts (see the cross-section photo) and definitely cannot unwind the layers like with the croissants at Au P'tit Paradis (perhaps uneven lamination/butter melted too much into the dough?). Sometimes you'll get a wonderful whiff of rounded wood-smokiness.
Best way to eat this: by the sea, unwound layer by layer (totally possible with the croissants at Au P'tit Paradis!) to savor the contrast of the crispy crunchy edges and the perfect slight chew buttery strands covered by more buttery strands that bring the wheat fields to you.
And between Tartines et Gourmandises and Au P'tit Paradis...although the flaky goodness of the ones from Tartines et Gourmandises is undeniable, without hesitation it has to be Au P'tit Paradis. Why blurb....
The bakeries tested:
quartier Saint-Gilles (east-side, near Abbaye aux Dames)
La Bibavou (127 av Georges Clemenceau)
Lelièvre Alain (1 pl Saint-Gilles)
La Fournée du Clos Herbert (26 r du Clos Herbert)
center + quartier Vaugueux (near Château and historical center/pedestrian zones)
Aux Délices de Saint Jean (196 r Saint-Jean)
Aux Délices Normands (133 r Saint-Jean)
Banette Saveurs (52 r Saint-Jean)
Maison Toulorge (98 r Saint-Jean)
Le Pain de Marcel (9 Place Saint-Sauveur)
Péan (55 r Saint-Pierre)
le P'tit Chou Normand (65 r Saint-Pierre)
Aux Normandises (104 r Saint-Pierre)
Tartines et Gourmandises (20 r Froide)
Mariatte & Fils (52 r du Vaugueux)
La Huche Caennaise (2 r Basse)
quartier Hastings (west end)
Calou (28 r Caponière)
quartier Calvaire St PIerre (northwest end)
Le Coeur Gourmand (11 av de la Côte de Nacre)
Other bakeries tested:
Luc-sur-Mer
Au P'tit Paradis (1 pl du Petit Enfer)
Favorite croissants aux amandes
Favorite croissants aux amandes
I have been on a mission to find the best almond croissants for forever -- both in the U.S. and on this side of the pond. In France, most almond croissants are oozing greasy with soggy bottoms that taste more like a kitchen paper towel used to sop up a major butter spill.
(1 pl du Petit Enfer, Luc-sur-Mer)
And my quest might have very well finally ended!! This bakery has to have the best croissants aux amandes I have had in Europe! Look at those layers. Look at that crispy bottom.
They also do a variation with chocolate (I personally prefer without).
Perfect with a cup of coffee (which they serve, too) at the seaside (where it is located).
Crispy, distinct layers of the best croissant aux amandes
croissant aux amandes et au chocolat
Au P'tit Paradis' croissants aux amandes has an undeniably crispy bottom
What makes these croissants aux amandes at Au P'tit Paradis the best for me:
flavor
freshness and tanginess of well-fermented dough
wheaty wholesomeness
generously filled with almond cream (not very almondy but still good)
not too sweet
not too greasy
consistency
crispy exterior -- top AND bottom (not soggy-bottomed and greasy like most other almond croissants
elastic layers with just the right amount of chewiness
croissants aux amandes - honorable mentions
croissants aux amandes - honorable mentions
on the northern edge of Caen:
(bât Etincelle A 2 rue Hubertine Auclert, 14610 Épron)
Marini's pains au chocolat aux amandes are not quite like the ones at Au P'tit Paradis -- not as flaky nor do with the same elasticity in the layers -- but no soggy bottom even though they are very generously filled with almond cream. Negative notes: slightly greasier, a bit softer (perhaps because of the generous filling), and a little eggy tasting.
in the center of Caen:
Tartines et Gourmandises
Tartines et Gourmandises
(20 r Froide, Caen center)
Although not soggy, the croissants aux amandes at the extremely popular Tartines et Gourmandises do not quite have the flakiness of the ones at Au P'tit Paradis.
Tartines et Gourmandises: croissant aux amandes
(close-up)
(underside)
(cross-section)
The bakeries tested:
quartier Saint-Gilles (east-side, near Abbaye aux Dames)
La Bibavou (127 av Georges Clemenceau)
Lelièvre Alain (1 pl Saint-Gilles)
center + quartier Vaugueux (near Château and historical center/pedestrian zones)
Banette Saveurs (52 r Saint-Jean)
La Brioche Chaude (25 Rue Neuve Saint-Jean)
Maison Toulorge (98 r Saint-Jean)
Péan (55 r Saint-Pierre)
le P'tit Chou Normand (65 r Saint-Pierre)
Tartines et Gourmandises (20 r Froide)
quartier Hastings (west end)
Calou (28 r Caponière)
quartier Calvaire St PIerre (northwest end)
Le Coeur Gourmand (11 av de la Côte de Nacre)
Other bakeries tested:
Luc-sur-Mer
Au P'tit Paradis (1 pl du Petit Enfer)
Épron
Boulangerie pâtisserie Marini (bât Etincelle A 2 rue Hubertine Auclert, 14610 Épron)
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