This pastry originated in Douarnenez Brittany in the north-west of France around 1860. The name comes from the Breton language words for 'bread' (kouign) and 'butter' (amann), and in 2011 the New York Times described the kouign-amann as "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe."[1] The strict original Douarnenez recipe requires a ratio of 40 percent bread dough, 30 percent butter, and 30 percent sugar.[2] Traditionally, kouign-amann is baked as a large cake and served in slices, although more recently, especially in North America, individual cupcake-sized pastries (kouignettes) have become more popular.We love them here at Hummingbird - They are amazing!
Dough Ingredients:
1 C lukewarm water
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 ½ C Pastry Wheat flour, divided
1 Tbsp melted butter, or more as needed
1 tsp sea salt
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
Sugar & Salt Mixture:
⅔ C white sugar
1 ½ tsp sea salt
Directions
Make dough: Combine water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let rest 5 minutes.
Add 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a very wet sticky dough forms.
Dust work surface with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Turn dough out onto the floured surface. Knead, folding in excess flour as needed, until dough is soft, slightly sticky, and elastic. Place dough ball into a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
Make sugar mixture: Mix together sugar and sea salt in a bowl.
Ready the pan: Spread butter a 12-cup muffin pan. Dust some of the seasoned sugar into each cup and shake to coat. Turn pan over and return excess sugar to the bowl. Set the buttered and sugar dusted pan aside for now.
Prepare the pastry: Uncover dough and push down, and transfer onto a floured surface and press or roll into a rough rectangle. Roll dough into a rectangle about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Grate 1 stick cold butter over dough, leaving a 1-inch border with no butter. Flatten butter using lightly floured hands. Fold rectangle widthwise into thirds. Press gently to square out the edges, then place onto a silicone-lined baking sheet. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll dough into a large rectangle again, about ¼-inch thick, pulling and stretching the corners as needed. Grate the second stick of cold butter over the surface. Pat down with floured fingers and fold into thirds. Roll back out into a rectangle 1/4-inch thick and fold into thirds. Repeat rolling and folding one more time. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F
Sprinkle a generous amount of seasoned sugar onto your work surface. Place dough onto sugar mixture and sprinkle more sugar on top. Roll into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick, turning and topping with sugar between rolls.
Trim edges to create a sharp 4 x 3 ratio rectangle. Cut dough into 12 equal squares - roughly four inch squares. Sprinkle more sugar on top. Lightly pinch each pastry into a crown shape by bringing all four corners to the center; place into the prepared pan’s cups. Sprinkle more sugar on top. Let rest for 30 minutes.
Bake: Place pan in the 375°F oven until browned and puffed, rotate to brown evenly, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pastries to a cooling rack while still hot (otherwise they will stick to the pan).
Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
1 Spiegel, Brendan (29 November 2011). "A Pastry From Brittany Making Waves Stateside". In Transit Blog.
2 Krystal, Becky. "Meet the kouign-amann, the caramelized French pastry we're loving right now". Washington Post.