The Top Chef award winner prepares artisanal puff pastries in a garage in the bohemian neighborhood of Sao Paulo
The croissant is a baked product, but it’s not bread, you know? Made with fermented dough enriched with sugar, milk and plenty of butter, it is stretched and re-stretched, becoming a triangle, rolled up on itself and shaped into the shape of a crescent moon. Once cooked it should be crunchy on the outside; honeycombed and almost sticky inside.
The sacred process of French boulangerie takes three days to complete at the brand new Kio Bakery, in Vila Madalena. It brings to life a competition-winning croissanzão (R$14), something the chef and baker doesn’t even hide that he’s a fan of.
In Henrique Yukio’s garage, which took six months and the entire prize from the latest edition of Top Chef Brasil (R$300 thousand), the puff pastry can be accompanied by carbonated butter, cherry jelly or Kiotella, the hazelnut paste of the house brand (R$ 8 each). But one does not exclude the other!
“The only classic, classic thing here is the croissant, we give the rest a touch.” At a glance, you understand six more creative recipes. For the sweet side, the more robust one, Henrique produces Belgian milk, dark and white chocolate bars. With them he fills the pain au chocolat (R $ 18).
The traditional croissant aux amandes includes, in addition to almond slices, a pear poached in citrus syrup (R$ 28). The apple tart has fruit compote, vanilla cream and caramelized buckwheat for extra crunch (R$26) and the biscuit (R$22)… oh, the biscuit…
“I was missing something easy to eat after lunch, so it became the puff biscuit. The base is the croissant, on top there is a chocolate biscuit and then we fill it with salted caramel”, describes the author proudly.
The savory section is more timid: “You have to eat something with cheese in a bakery, ours is a puff pastry brioche with a mix of parmesan, mozzarella and gorgonzola, peppers, miso and roasted garlic filled with parmesan on top (R$ 26) “.
Despite the almost pornographic charm of this cheese delicacy, the great success of the young restaurant – counting the numerous tests with chef friends – is the sausage roll with kimchi and catupiry, served with a mayonnaise made from fermented juice (R$ 28 ). To accompany it, depending on the time, some good coffee prepared by Dora Coffe Roaster (R$ 12) or a glass of wine (R$ 30).
After years at the helm of Felipe Bronze’s restaurants, Henrique confesses: “Bread making is totally different, even on your own you can produce many things, because they are long processes that you can control. I fell in love with it.”
Currently, for these processes, the baker uses Italian flour and unsalted butter from Queijos Roni, a São Sebastião da Grama dairy and an institution of the Mercadão de São Paulo for almost a century.
Kio Bakehouse
R. Aspicuelta, 300, Vila Madalena. From Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 17:00.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
