Tous Les Jours, a famous French-themed South Korean bakery recently started opening new branches in Singapore. I had previously tried it in Vietnam, so was glad to finally get to try it here. This particular menu item is a cross between a loaf of bread and a croissant. It is called "32 Layered Tissue Bread" officially on their site, but many people also refer to it as the "Thousand Layer Bread". I think visually, the names explain themselves - check out the intricate fine layers.
It is also one of their most popular signature items. It was so popular that it is frequently sold out soon after lunch time at their Tang's Plaza branch, although they apparently do bake multiple batches throughout the day to keep up with demand.
I reheated it in the oven to get the layers crispy again, and I would highly recommend it, because the texture is the main draw of this bread-pastry crossover loaf.
When I first brought it home, it was quite soft, like normal supermarket shelf stable bread loaves, as you can see in this picture with the packaging still on.In terms of the size, it is slightly smaller than a regular whole shokupan loaf. So it is something that can be shared among 2 or 3 people for a snack.
During the reheating process, there was a distinct pie pastry aroma that filled the air, and I would describe that as the main flavour. It was not as buttery as a croissant - I barely smelled butter while reheating, and it was more of a puff pastry oil smell that dominated. It is closer to those pie pastries commonly used in Asian versions of Western chicken pies, like the pie puff pastry from Polar Cakes, Delifrance or Don Pie, or like the pastry used in Macau Portuguese egg tarts baked until they are crispy.
And you can see in the picture below, as well as in the picture above with the plastic packaging, that there is actually an extra layer that they added to the top and bottom, which seems to detach completely from the rest of the loaf. During reheating, it separates out as a very thin and extremely crispy sheet, which you can see is sitting on top of the loaf.
The first impression as I bit into it is also very similar to a thick wad of puff pastry. The exterior is crispy like a croissant or pie, and the inside is very moist and soft, with a strong wheat and oil taste as in puff pastry pie crusts. The only difference is that it is actually layers of bread, not puff pastry at all, so the inside is not also fluffy. I absolutely loved this combination of crispiness, slight crunchiness at the corners, and soft and fluffy interior. It was almost perfect.
The extra thin sheets of pastry lining the top and bottom seemed closer to a croissant in texture, as bread tends to be soft and spongy, not like these smooth and razor thin sheets. It added a very nice extra crisp to the overall bite, if you managed to each it in the same mouthful.
The taste is overall slightly more on the savoury side than sweet side, which I like for such loaves.
The only thing that I would hope they can improve on, would be to use less oil and more butter. It would probably increase the price of the loaf, but such an amazing texture just really needs butter to give it that extra pop of gourmet richness and aroma. The added salt from the butter would probably also make it heartier, in a very good way.
I had it with kaya spread and butter in the end, which was a perfect combination. Every bite was very heavenly.
Overall, this is definitely a unique offering, and I haven't found a similar loaf elsewhere. So I would highly recommend trying it, and to definitely reheat it first if you do.
Discover other pastries and interesting breads
- Lava Mocha Croissant by Kamome Bakery
- Vegetable Breads by Bakery 1946 - Whole Chestnut, Corn and Carrot (another Korean bakery that recently came to Singapore)
- Curry Cheese Bread by Giraffa Curry Bread Specialist from Japan
- Standard Bun: Mocha Bun, Matcha Cookie Bun and Garlic Cream Cheese Bun
- Ayam Buah Keluak on the Go - Polo Bun Version
- Sweet Pumpkin Bread by Bakery 1946
- Apple Tea in a Bun - Apple Tea Time Bun by Johan Paris Bakery
- Earl Grey Latte in a Bun by Johan Paris Bakery
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