Recipe courtesy of
Andy Liang
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Andy Liang
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Kouign Amann
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- Level: Advanced
- Total: 14 hr (includes overnight chilling)
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
- Yield: 12 pastries
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 472
- Total Fat
- 28 g
- Saturated Fat
- 17 g
- Carbohydrates
- 51 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 25 g
- Protein
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 71 mg
- Sodium
- 221 mg
These classic French pastries are buttery, flaky and sweet with a famously caramelized flavor and attractive flower shape. Originating in Brittany, kouign amann are traditionally baked as round loaves or cakes and sliced to serve. In North America however, they’re more often individual cupcake-size pastries — sometimes called “kouignettes” — with an iconic flower shape and lots of surface area for extra crunch. Like croissants, these pastries use a laminated dough, meaning butter is encased in pastry dough and then put through a series of rolling and folding steps resulting in hundreds of individual layers. Sugar is also sprinkled between the layers to give the pastries their signature caramel flavor and crispness. The process takes a bit of time and care but the results are stunningly flaky pastries with deep flavor from just a few humble ingredients. The amount of salt used in the dough may seem like a lot but is key to their balanced, not-too-sweet flavor. In this recipe we bake the treats in one muffin pan at a time and alternate cavities to ensure they turn golden without touching each other, key to their perfectly crunchy, browned crust. They make a satisfying breakfast, treat with coffee or dessert.
- Level: Advanced
- Total: 14 hr (includes overnight chilling)
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
- Yield: 12 pastries
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 472
- Total Fat
- 28 g
- Saturated Fat
- 17 g
- Carbohydrates
- 51 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 25 g
- Protein
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 71 mg
- Sodium
- 221 mg
Ingredients
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Directions
Special equipment:
a stand mixer with a hook attachment- Lightly spray a medium bowl with cooking spray and set aside. Melt 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) of the butter and set aside to cool.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon melted butter for the dough and brush the remaining melted butter in alternating cavities of two 12-cup muffin tins; 6 cavities will be brushed with butter per muffin pan. This will prevent the pastries from touching each other during baking. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar (about 2 teaspoons) over the butter in each brushed cavity. Set aside in a cool area to solidify the butter.
- Slice the remaining 12 ounces (24 tablespoons) butter into 1-tablespoon pats and refrigerate until needed.
- Combine the bread flour, salt, yeast, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 cup lukewarm water in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead on low speed until a dough starts to form, cleans the sides of the bowl and feels slightly sticky but doesn’t leave any residue on your fingers. If the dough feels dry add 1 tablespoon more lukewarm water at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue kneading until smooth, slightly tacky and the sides of the bowl are clean, about 10 minutes. Check the dough by performing the windowpane test: Stretch a small piece of dough between your fingers to see if it creates a sheet of dough thin enough to let light through without tearing; if it does then it’s ready. Transfer the dough to the prepared medium bowl, cover with a large plate and leave to proof in a warm area until risen but not quite doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Make the butter block while the dough rises. Draw a 7-inch square in the center of a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment paper with a marker and flip the parchment over so it’s marker-side down. Fold the parchment paper along one edge of the square in a straight line. Repeat with the remaining 3 sides of the square; keep the middle of the square untouched; you’re making a small packet for the butter to sit in. Unfold the paper.
- Place the reserved 24 tablespoons sliced butter in the square in an even layer leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges; you can stack the butter chunks. Fold all 4 sides of the parchment over the 7-inch square to enclose the butter. Flip the whole parchment-wrapped packet over so the folded parchment is underneath the butter. This technique will keep the butter within the 7-inch square.
- Lightly pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, then gently roll it out to the edges of the square so it’s even and reaches to the 4 corners; the folded parchment paper should keep the butter enclosed, but if the butter goes past the lines use your hands to firmly push it back into the square. Refrigerate the butter until needed.
- Punch the dough down to release air and form it into a flat disk. Wrap it tightly in plastic and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then flip and continue to freeze until the dough is thoroughly chilled and the edges are starting to freeze, about 15 minutes longer.
- While the dough is freezing, remove the butter from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature until still cold but pliable enough to bend without breaking, about 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a surface with all-purpose flour. Roll the very cold dough out to a 13-inch square. Brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Place the butter block in the center of the dough with the corners of the butter pointing to the sides of the dough’s 4 edges. Stretch the dough up and over the butter to enclose it; brush off any excess flour on the seams so they stick together better. Gently tap the seams with the rolling pin to seal.
- Lightly flour the work surface again and dust the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour.
- Roll the dough into a 24-by-10-inch rectangle with the shorter side facing you. Dust off any excess flour and fold the top of the dough down to the middle over the dough, stretching the edges to line up straight with the other edges. From the furthest side, fold the remaining one-third of the dough on top of the first third that has already been folded like you were folding a letter. Stretch the corners until the edges are all straight so that you have an even rectangle with straight edges. Rotate the dough 90 degrees so the short end is facing you and repeat the same rolling and folding process for a total of 2 sets of folds. If at any point the dough gets warm or the butter becomes soft, wrap and refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes to chill the butter. After you’ve rolled and folded the dough twice, wrap the folded dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Unwrap the dough and reserve the plastic wrap. Roll the dough out again on a lightly floured surface to the same 24-by-10-inch rectangle with the shorter side facing you. Fold the dough over itself in thirds like a letter again. If the dough and butter still feel cold, proceed to the next step. If not, wrap in the same plastic and chill the dough for 20 minutes, then proceed to the next step.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees again and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to the same 24-by-10-inch rectangle with the shorter side facing you. Brush off any flour on top of the dough with a pastry brush. Evenly sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar over the middle third of the rectangle, fold the third closest to you over the sugared middle, and gently press together with your hands. Brush off any excess flour from the folded dough with a pastry brush, sprinkle another 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar over the folded dough and bring the top dough down to cover the sugar. Gently press the layers together with your hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm and cold, about 30 minutes.
- Roll the chilled dough out to a 13-by-18-inch rectangle on a surface lightly sprinkled with sugar. Dust the top of the dough with more sugar as well. Slice off 1/2 inch from all sides of the rectangle with a sharp knife. Cut the dough into 12 equal 4-inch squares. The pieces may pull back and shrink after cutting; this is okay. If the butter is soft, transfer the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered until the butter is cold, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Working with one square at a time, gently stretch each square to about 4 inches and sprinkle evenly with about 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Gather the 4 corners of the dough into the center to look like a 4-petal flower, pick the dough up from the bottom, and press the shaped pastry into a buttered muffin cavity without touching the exposed layers. Push the middle of the shaped kouign amann to seal the 4 corners together. Repeat the same steps until all the dough is used; you may have some leftover sugar.
- At this point, you can wrap each muffin pan individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to bake the pastries in the morning.
- Remove the muffin tins from the refrigerator and set them in a warm area until the “petals” of each pastry are slightly puffed and the layers start to separate, 1 1/2 to 2 hours if they’ve been refrigerated, less if they haven’t been. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.
- When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and another in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack to catch any drips.
- Unwrap one muffin pan and bake on the middle rack over the foil-lined baking sheet until puffed and starting to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Rotate the pan, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until evenly golden brown on top and the sugar has caramelized on the edges of the pastries, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove the first muffin pan from the oven and return the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake the second batch of pastries in the same manner.
- Let the pastries cool about 5 minutes. Carefully unmold them with a small offset spatula and transfer to the prepared wire rack with the bottom (caramel side) facing up. Let cool until the caramel has hardened, about 20 minutes. Enjoy them warm. You can also refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Rewarm in the oven, toaster oven or air fryer until warm, 3 to 4 minutes.
Cook’s Note
We tested this recipe using both European-style unsalted butter, which has a higher percentage of butterfat, and American-style butter. While both are fine, we prefer the results with European-style better. If you’re using a brand of kosher salt other than Diamond Crystal, use 1 1/2 tablespoons. It’s very important to keep the butter cold but still pliable throughout the folding process; if you think the butter is getting soft, wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
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