The first caramel maker we met, Maelig Georgelin, owns the elegant patisserie Au Petit Prince in the tiny village of Étel and handcrafts every step. His old-school methodology might suggest that his is a longtime endeavor, but the 30-year-old is one of a few young pastry chefs in Brittany who are reviving an increasingly rare craft.

When we walked in the door of the compact shop, we were greeted by a case of refined desserts behind glass — macarons, napoleons and assorted cakes — along with a line of people waiting to buy them. We had an appointment with Mr. Georgelin and expected to do a tasting and interview, but he had other plans.

“Instead of telling you about my caramels, I thought I would have you help me make them,” he said as he led us to his kitchen on the second floor. He told us that although the chefs creating caramels usually have their own techniques, most caramel candy recipes have the same steps and ingredients: the region’s famous salted butter, heavy cream, sugar, glucose and sometimes vanilla extract and a hint of fleur de sel, also from the area. “It’s the quality of cream, whether it’s regular or double fat, and the cooking temperature of the mixture, that’s the difference between caramels,” he said.

He said he believes that using double cream with 30 percent fat from a small dairy nearby and having the patience to heat the butter, cream and sugar to 230 degrees is what sets the 1,500 caramels he makes a year apart from others. Stirring the sugar until it transformed into a gooey, clear mixture was the first step before we added the other ingredients, and as Mahir and I took turns stirring over Mr. Georgelin’s tiny stove for more than a half-hour, the aroma of the bubbling mixture became intoxicating. “I grew up making caramels with my mother in our kitchen; it’s the only way I know how, and I want to preserve this integrity in my work,” he said.

Spreading the mixture on cookie sheets and evening it out with a spatula follows, and then a one-day cooling in the refrigerator. Then, Mr. Georgelin and one other employee do the cutting and wrapping by hand. The slightly irregularly shaped pieces with their imperfect clear wrapping served to us by their beaming creator were especially tempting. And, with their creamy feel and finish, their taste was a highlight of the trip.

Our next stop was Kerjeanne, a large and uninspiring-looking bakery in the village of Belz that is a 15-minute drive from Étel. Here, locals hurry in to pick up Breton specialties like butter biscuits and cakes, and half the shop is lined with tacky mugs and key chains to entice tourists. Emmanuel Dumaire, 50, purchased the store in 2008 from the family who started it 50 years ago, and he employs Lydia Justum, 45, who was one of the first caramel candy makers when Kerjeanne began making them in 1985. The difference is that she now has gadgets to help her out.