02/10/2026
Balmoș is a traditional sheperd’s food made by boiling the corn flour in ‘jintuială’, a fatty whey left from making cheese. It’s then mixed with cheese and you get a very creamy polenta. It’s often open fire cooked which also grants it a specific smokiness. It’s a very simple sheperd’s hut kind of food.
A kouign amann is a breton pastry made by folding sugar through the layers - when the pastry bakes, the sugar turna glassy giving it a crunchy exterior whilst the inside stays soft and chewy.
We wanted to bring the two together. Romanian tradition and french fine pastry.
But a savory kouign amann is something that technically just doesn’t work. You need a replacement for the sugar to give it that crunch and not many things caramelize the same way sugar does.
So we tried. We made a balmoș spread and cooked it in fat - it split. We tossed it and started anew. When we thought we made it, it tore when we tried to fold it into layers. Toss and restart.
We prepared about 20 different elements for this pastry to come together. Alas it’s here: crunchy on the outside, smooth and balmoș-y on the inside.
Furthermore, bringing the personality of a freshly prepared balmoș in a pastry that goes through various stages and is ultimately baked was also challenging. We wanted to keep the specific goat and sheep cheese aroma - caprylic and capric acid as well as glutamates for umami.
We were supposed to make it only for a special event we hosted for Bucharest Food Week, but you asked for it so here we go.
Balmoș kouign amann:
👉100% sourdough corn croissant dough
👉Laminated with a balmoș spread made with jintuială and copious amounts of aged Romanian cheese
👉Crunchy corn ‘frico’ base
👉Topped with smoked sour cream, to bring that open-fire cook feel to it
👉Finished with some more aged Romanian cheese and fresh thyme
Only this Saturday and Sunday at 10:45 - yes, it’s very specific, many things had to get pushed around in our production schedule to make room for this.
This is something to be enjoyed as fresh as can be - so please don’t let it sit in a box for hours before munching on it and by all means don’t leave it to the next day.
