b.patisserie: Morning Pastries

It took two trips before I succeeded in getting some morning pastries from b.patisserie. Several pastry shops have opened in the past year but never have I seen such a demand. My first visit, silly me was mid-day and there was one scone and brioche bun left on their serving boards. The pastry counter was completely empty except for a row of chocolate-covered domes. My second trip, at 9 in the morning I was greeted with nicely stacked plates of golden flaky pastries.

Croissant and Kouign Amann

Belinda Leong was pastry chef of the Michelin star restaurant Manresa in the South Bay before heading north to San Francisco. Over the past year she’s been doing pop-ups all over the city in preparation for the opening of her shop. I first heard of her when she took the lead on bringing Macaron Day to the west coast. This special day dedicated to macarons was started in Paris by Pierre Herme, whom she had worked for, so I knew hers would be just as good. Naturally, at that pop up the macaron boxes sold out in the first hour. I managed to get a single macaron as my first taste of her work. Fast forward a year later and now we can all enjoy her wonderful pastries from her patisserie in the Pac Heights.

The croissant is currently my favorite in the US. I’d rank as #3 if I’d put it in my Paris croissants list. I think there is just something in Parisian butter that I’m addicted to so nothing can really compare. The size was generous and perfectly folded as seen by the spiraling pattern. It had the flakiness that marks a true croissant and great crisp texture. Also just the right amount of salt.

For my sweet selection, I’ve been hearing such good things about her kouign amann. This is also a yeasted, laminated dough. To get the shape, a square piece of dough is placed in a ring mold or muffin tin and the corners are folded inward.

I love the thin layer of sweet filling at the bottom. It is just the right amount and again she nails it with the flakiness. Sometimes kouign amann are made more compact so as to caramelize the sugars resulting in a denser crisper product but I really like her lighter take on this pastry.

Adding here my passion fruit bostock that I had at Easter. It was crispy on the outside and tangy and moist on the inside. Very rich so I really could only eat half in one sitting.

Can’t wait to try some of the individual desserts!

b.patisserie
2821 California Street
San Francisco, CA