One of my favourite treats in the whole wide world! One, that reminds me of summers in France, of our honeymoon and of my dear French friends. Only few, everyday, simple ingredients and such an amazing result! Kouign-amann is an essence of Brittany for me (aside from salted caramel and galettes that is). How I miss that taste! How I miss France sometimes...
It's really hard to describe kouign-amann. Bread-ish, sweet and sticky, "caramely", crunchy on the outside and soft, almost velvety inside. I love it slightly warmed, so the caramel becomes soft.
It's really hard to describe kouign-amann. Bread-ish, sweet and sticky, "caramely", crunchy on the outside and soft, almost velvety inside. I love it slightly warmed, so the caramel becomes soft.
It's super easy to make it vegan - you just have to swap the butter for such.
I will not lie to you - it IS tricky to make, even though all the steps of the whole process aren't that difficult. It was quite daunting, when I read the recipe (and please, DO read it from beginning to end before you start doing anything!) but I didn't give up and... I'm so glad I was daring enough to make it.
I will not lie to you - it IS tricky to make, even though all the steps of the whole process aren't that difficult. It was quite daunting, when I read the recipe (and please, DO read it from beginning to end before you start doing anything!) but I didn't give up and... I'm so glad I was daring enough to make it.
The recipe and instructions call for pastry rings, in which you're supposed to bake your kouign-ammans, but as I didn't have them, I simply used... cupcake baking tray. Which thankfully worked well! The below recipe comes from a book "The Baking Bible" by Rose Bernabaum - and I do admit, that I haven't heard about her much, before I came across her newest cook book, but I'm already in love. I like Rose's writing style, which is clear and simple, explaining everything with the smallest detail. It reminds me a little bit of Julia Child and her writing. I'm putting the recipe here below, exactly as it is in the book, because of the complexity/many steps of the whole process and the fact, that I really want you to try it and succeed!
"Kouign-amann (pronounced [,kwiɲˈamɑ̃nː] Breton pl. kouignoù-amann) is a Breton cake. It is a round crusty cake, made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar folded in, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. The resulting cake is slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough (resulting in the layered aspect of it) and the sugar caramelizes. The name derives from the Breton words for cake ("kouign") and butter ("amann"). Kouign-amann is a speciality of the town Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany, where it originated in around 1860." - by wikipedia.org
- 2 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
- 1 3/4 teaspoon (10 g) fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) room temperature water
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled
- 227 g unsalted vegan butter
- 1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar
The dough takes about 6 hours from start to finish, including baking. The actual hands-on time is very short, because the dough does most of the work, but it is necessary to follow the time schedule strictly.
Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a hand whisk, mix together the flour, yeast, and then the salt. Add the water and the melted butter. Attach the dough hook and, starting on low speed, mix until the flour mixture is moistened, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Continuing on low speed, beat for 4 minutes. The dough will be silky smooth and have cleaned the sides of the bowl, but it will stick to the bottom and be very soft and slightly sticky to the touch. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the butter square.
Make the butter square
Place the softened butter on a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it loosely. If the butter is cold, pound it lightly with a rolling pin to flatten and soften it. Then knead it together using the plastic wrap and your knuckles to avoid touching the butter directly. Shape the butter into a 5 inch square (it will be about ¾ inch high). At this point, the butter should be firm but workable—68° to 70°F/20° to 21°C. Use it at once or set it in a cool area. The butter should be the same consistency as the dough when they are rolled together or it will break through the dough and not distribute evenly.
Make the dough package
Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to an 8 inch square. Place the plastic wrapped butter square diagonally in the centre of the dough square and lightly mark the dough at the edges of the butter with the dull side of a clean ruler or a knife. Remove the butter and roll each marked corner of the dough into a flap. The dough will be slightly elastic. Unwrap and place the butter on the dough. Wrap the butter by stretching the flaps slightly to reach across the butter square. Brush off any flour on the first three flaps before stretching over the fourth flap to wrap the butter square securely. It will form a 5¾ inch square dough package. Pinch together the seams to seal it well.
Make the first turn
On the well-floured surface, keeping the dough seam side up and lightly floured, gently roll the dough package into a 13 by 7 inch rectangle. It will be about ¼ inch thick. Roll into the corners and use a bench scraper or a ruler to maintain an even rectangle. If the dough blisters, gently press the blister down. If the butter breaks through, dust the area lightly with a little flour before brushing off all excess flour from the surface of the dough. Fold the dough into thirds as you would fold a business letter. This is the first turn. Wrap the dough package with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour. (The dough should weigh about almost 2 pounds/900 grams.)
Make the second turn
Before each turn, move the dough so that the closed end is facing to the left. Repeat the same process of rolling and folding as for the first turn, but every once in a while, flip over the dough to keep the seams aligned. (The upper part tends to roll more than the bottom.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another hour.
Make the third turn
Clean the work surface and sprinkle with about half of the sugar in a rectangle the width of the dough. Set the dough on top and sprinkle most of the remaining sugar on top of it. Roll the dough again into a 14 by 8 inch rectangle, flipping it over from time to time. Scrape sugar from the work surface and sprinkle it and some of the remaining sugar on top of the dough until all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sugar have been rolled into the dough. With a bench scraper, form the dough into an even rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, wrap it with plastic wrap, and freeze for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Spread the remaining sugar on the work surface in a rectangle, which will be used for rolling the dough and shaping.
Prepare the rings and pan
Set the pastry rings on the prepared sheet pan and lightly coat the insides and bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Set the dough on top of the sugar on the work surface. Roll it from the centre to the edges, then as necessary to form a 16 by 8 inch rectangle. It will be about ⅜ inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Each will be about a 4 inch square (average weight should be 4.9 ounces/140 grams). The dough will now be somewhat sticky as the sugar becomes syrupy. Roll 1 of the squares into a 5½ to 6 inch square. Bring up the four corners to the centre and press down firmly over the top of the dough. Cup the dough square into the palm of your hand to support it and keep the four corners together. Repeat folding, bringing up the corners to the centre a second time. This will be more difficult because the dough is now thicker, but simply press it down in the centre (if necessary, dip your fingertip in sugar) and push it together as well as possible. Set the dough in a prepared pastry ring on the sheet pan. Repeat with the other dough squares. Each one will open up slightly and take its own shape, which is part of its charm.
Cover the shaped dough with an 18 by 12 by 2 inch sheet pan, or loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray, and let it sit in a warm place (ideally at 75° to 80°F/24° to 27°C, but no higher than 80°F/27°C) for 30 minutes, or until the dough has risen about 1½ times and most of the dough touches the sides of the rings. (See recommended rising environments .) Once the dough is shaped, the baking time can be delayed for up to 2 hours by lightly covering the kouigns with plastic wrap and refrigerating them. The rising time, once the kouigns are removed from the refrigerator, will take about 45 minutes to an hour, but the baking time will be the same and the results comparable. (Refrigerating the kouigns for longer than 2 hours prevents the dough from rising.)
Preheat the oven thirty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack at the lowest level. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Bake the Kouigns Bake for 12 minutes. For even baking, rotate the pan halfway around. Continue baking for 8 to 15 minutes, or until the pastries are the pastry rings and a pancake turner to lift each kouign onto another wire rack that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray and set over paper towels to catch any leaking butter. (About 2 tablespoons of butter will have leaked from the kouigns onto the aluminum foil.) If any of the kouigns cannot be removed from the rings, return them to the oven for a few minutes to soften the caramel. Let the kouigns cool for about 10 minutes. The texture is softest and the kouigns most delicious when eaten just baked and while still warm. Store In a paper bag: room temperature, 2 days. To reheat: 8 to 10 seconds in a microwave or 3 to 5 minutes in a preheated 350°F/175°C oven.
✅ As mentioned already I sued 12 muffin baking tray so I cut my dough into 12 equal squares, slightly smaller than in the original recipe.
Smacznego!
You may also like:
"Kouign-amann (pronounced [,kwiɲˈamɑ̃nː] Breton pl. kouignoù-amann) is a Breton cake. It is a round crusty cake, made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar folded in, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. The resulting cake is slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough (resulting in the layered aspect of it) and the sugar caramelizes. The name derives from the Breton words for cake ("kouign") and butter ("amann"). Kouign-amann is a speciality of the town Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany, where it originated in around 1860." - by wikipedia.org
How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 390 g bread/strong flour- 2 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
- 1 3/4 teaspoon (10 g) fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) room temperature water
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled
- 227 g unsalted vegan butter
- 1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar
The dough takes about 6 hours from start to finish, including baking. The actual hands-on time is very short, because the dough does most of the work, but it is necessary to follow the time schedule strictly.
Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a hand whisk, mix together the flour, yeast, and then the salt. Add the water and the melted butter. Attach the dough hook and, starting on low speed, mix until the flour mixture is moistened, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Continuing on low speed, beat for 4 minutes. The dough will be silky smooth and have cleaned the sides of the bowl, but it will stick to the bottom and be very soft and slightly sticky to the touch. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the butter square.
Make the butter square
Place the softened butter on a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it loosely. If the butter is cold, pound it lightly with a rolling pin to flatten and soften it. Then knead it together using the plastic wrap and your knuckles to avoid touching the butter directly. Shape the butter into a 5 inch square (it will be about ¾ inch high). At this point, the butter should be firm but workable—68° to 70°F/20° to 21°C. Use it at once or set it in a cool area. The butter should be the same consistency as the dough when they are rolled together or it will break through the dough and not distribute evenly.
Make the dough package
Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to an 8 inch square. Place the plastic wrapped butter square diagonally in the centre of the dough square and lightly mark the dough at the edges of the butter with the dull side of a clean ruler or a knife. Remove the butter and roll each marked corner of the dough into a flap. The dough will be slightly elastic. Unwrap and place the butter on the dough. Wrap the butter by stretching the flaps slightly to reach across the butter square. Brush off any flour on the first three flaps before stretching over the fourth flap to wrap the butter square securely. It will form a 5¾ inch square dough package. Pinch together the seams to seal it well.
Make the first turn
On the well-floured surface, keeping the dough seam side up and lightly floured, gently roll the dough package into a 13 by 7 inch rectangle. It will be about ¼ inch thick. Roll into the corners and use a bench scraper or a ruler to maintain an even rectangle. If the dough blisters, gently press the blister down. If the butter breaks through, dust the area lightly with a little flour before brushing off all excess flour from the surface of the dough. Fold the dough into thirds as you would fold a business letter. This is the first turn. Wrap the dough package with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour. (The dough should weigh about almost 2 pounds/900 grams.)
Make the second turn
Before each turn, move the dough so that the closed end is facing to the left. Repeat the same process of rolling and folding as for the first turn, but every once in a while, flip over the dough to keep the seams aligned. (The upper part tends to roll more than the bottom.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another hour.
Make the third turn
Clean the work surface and sprinkle with about half of the sugar in a rectangle the width of the dough. Set the dough on top and sprinkle most of the remaining sugar on top of it. Roll the dough again into a 14 by 8 inch rectangle, flipping it over from time to time. Scrape sugar from the work surface and sprinkle it and some of the remaining sugar on top of the dough until all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sugar have been rolled into the dough. With a bench scraper, form the dough into an even rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, wrap it with plastic wrap, and freeze for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Spread the remaining sugar on the work surface in a rectangle, which will be used for rolling the dough and shaping.
Prepare the rings and pan
Set the pastry rings on the prepared sheet pan and lightly coat the insides and bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Set the dough on top of the sugar on the work surface. Roll it from the centre to the edges, then as necessary to form a 16 by 8 inch rectangle. It will be about ⅜ inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Each will be about a 4 inch square (average weight should be 4.9 ounces/140 grams). The dough will now be somewhat sticky as the sugar becomes syrupy. Roll 1 of the squares into a 5½ to 6 inch square. Bring up the four corners to the centre and press down firmly over the top of the dough. Cup the dough square into the palm of your hand to support it and keep the four corners together. Repeat folding, bringing up the corners to the centre a second time. This will be more difficult because the dough is now thicker, but simply press it down in the centre (if necessary, dip your fingertip in sugar) and push it together as well as possible. Set the dough in a prepared pastry ring on the sheet pan. Repeat with the other dough squares. Each one will open up slightly and take its own shape, which is part of its charm.
Cover the shaped dough with an 18 by 12 by 2 inch sheet pan, or loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray, and let it sit in a warm place (ideally at 75° to 80°F/24° to 27°C, but no higher than 80°F/27°C) for 30 minutes, or until the dough has risen about 1½ times and most of the dough touches the sides of the rings. (See recommended rising environments .) Once the dough is shaped, the baking time can be delayed for up to 2 hours by lightly covering the kouigns with plastic wrap and refrigerating them. The rising time, once the kouigns are removed from the refrigerator, will take about 45 minutes to an hour, but the baking time will be the same and the results comparable. (Refrigerating the kouigns for longer than 2 hours prevents the dough from rising.)
Preheat the oven thirty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack at the lowest level. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Bake the Kouigns Bake for 12 minutes. For even baking, rotate the pan halfway around. Continue baking for 8 to 15 minutes, or until the pastries are the pastry rings and a pancake turner to lift each kouign onto another wire rack that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray and set over paper towels to catch any leaking butter. (About 2 tablespoons of butter will have leaked from the kouigns onto the aluminum foil.) If any of the kouigns cannot be removed from the rings, return them to the oven for a few minutes to soften the caramel. Let the kouigns cool for about 10 minutes. The texture is softest and the kouigns most delicious when eaten just baked and while still warm. Store In a paper bag: room temperature, 2 days. To reheat: 8 to 10 seconds in a microwave or 3 to 5 minutes in a preheated 350°F/175°C oven.
✅ As mentioned already I sued 12 muffin baking tray so I cut my dough into 12 equal squares, slightly smaller than in the original recipe.
Smacznego!
You may also like:
Have you made any of my recipes? Tag @anulaskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #anulaskitchen
Gorgeous! We have a pastry shop nearby that makes these. I need to make them at home too.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara :) Do make them - not that difficult and the dough spends more time in the fridge than on your work surface! Tricky to get that layering right though!
DeletePozdrawiam, Anula.
PS. Out of the 12 I've made, I think I ate easily half of it... ;)
I tried kouign amann and I can confirm that this a very tasty treat. I never tried to do it myself....I don't know if I have the courage to do it.
ReplyDeleteYours look perfect and so tasty!!