Kouign-Amann

Before you start

Kouign-amann (roughly pronounced queen ah-MAHN) comes from Brittany, and its name means butter cake in Breton. It is a laminated yeast dough like croissant dough, but sugar is folded into the last turns. As the pastries bake, that sugar melts with the butter into a deep amber caramel that coats the outside, so each one is crunchy and glassy on the outside and tender and layered inside.

Sugar is what makes this pastry tricky. It draws moisture out of the dough, so once it goes in you have to work steadily: keep chills short and roll promptly, or the dough turns wet and the layers smear. Bake until the caramel is a dark amber, and turn the pastries out of the tin within a minute or two, before the caramel hardens and glues them in place.

Ingredients

• Dough300 g (2½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 6 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• 4 g (1¼ tsp) instant yeast
• 190 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) lukewarm water
• 15 g (1 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted
• Lamination200 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) cold salted butter — or unsalted butter plus ¼ tsp salt
• 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• Pan20 g (1½ tbsp) soft butter — for the tin
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar — for the tin and tops

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast, then add the water and melted butter. Knead by hand for 6 to 8 minutes or in a mixer for 4 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour, until puffy. Flatten into a square, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Pound and roll the 200 g butter between parchment into a 15 cm (6 in) square. Chill briefly so it is cold but pliable.
3. Roll the dough into a 25 cm (10 in) square. Set the butter on it like a diamond, fold the dough corners over to enclose it and seal the seams. Roll to a 20 x 50 cm (8 x 20 in) strip, letter-fold it in thirds, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough to 20 x 50 cm again. Sprinkle 100 g of the sugar evenly over the surface, letter-fold it and roll lightly to press the sugar in. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
5. Grease the muffin tin generously with the soft butter and sprinkle each cup with about 1 tsp of the pan sugar.
6. Sprinkle half the remaining 100 g sugar on the counter. Set the dough on it, sprinkle the rest on top and roll to a 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in) rectangle, about 6 mm thick. Work steadily; the sugar starts to dissolve.
7. Trim the edges and cut 12 squares of 10 cm (4 in). Fold the four corners of each square into the center and press down, then set it in a muffin cup. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining pan sugar.
8. Cover loosely and proof at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, until visibly puffy. Meanwhile heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and set a parchment-lined sheet on the rack below to catch drips.
9. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastries are a deep amber with dark caramel at the edges. If they color too fast, lower the oven to 180°C (350°F) for the last 10 minutes.
10. Let them stand 1 to 2 minutes, then carefully lift each one out with a fork or tongs onto a rack, flipping them caramel side up. Cool at least 15 minutes before eating.

Tips for success

• Bake them darker than feels comfortable. Pale kouign-amann taste of raw sugar instead of caramel and go soft quickly.
• If the dough becomes wet and sticky after the sugar fold, dust the counter with a little more sugar, never flour.
• Use a metal muffin tin rather than silicone; metal conducts heat for better caramelization on the bottom and sides.

Substitutions

Salted butter

Unsalted butter with ¼ tsp fine salt pounded into it works. Salted Breton-style butter gives the most traditional, salty-sweet flavor.

Granulated sugar

Up to a third can be raw or demerara sugar for crunch. Large crystals caramelize unevenly, so do not use only coarse sugar.

Muffin tin

Bake as one large cake in a buttered, sugared 23 cm (9 in) round pan: roll the folded dough into a 23 cm round, tuck in the edges and bake 40 to 45 minutes.

Variations

Cinnamon kouign-amann

Mix 2 tsp ground cinnamon into the 200 g lamination sugar.

Fleur de sel finish

Sprinkle a few flakes of fleur de sel on each pastry as soon as it comes out of the tin.

Troubleshooting

Pastries stuck in the tin

The caramel set before unmolding. Turn them out within 2 minutes; if they stick, rewarm the tin in the oven for 2 minutes and try again.

Layers smeared and pastry is dense

The sugar pulled moisture out while the dough sat too long or got warm. Keep chills short after adding sugar and roll promptly.

Burnt bottoms with pale tops

The pan was too low in the oven or very dark. Bake in the center and lower the heat for the last 10 minutes.

Storage

Kouign-amann are best within a few hours of baking. Keep them uncovered or in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 1 day; airtight containers make the caramel sticky. Recrisp at 175°C (350°F) for 5 minutes.

Safety notes

Molten caramel causes serious burns. Use tongs or a fork to unmold, and let the pastries cool before eating. Contains wheat and milk.