- I ate my first kouign amann from the palm of my hand at a farmers market in Oakland almost two years ago, and I will never in all my life forget the taste of those first buttery, caramelized, incredibly flakey morsels. I dream of traveling to Brittany to try a kouign amann straight from the source. Then again, now that I know that making them at home is not only doable, but just as buttery and flakey as anything coming from a bakery, I may not need to. Kouign amann? At home? I'm not kidding. Here's how you, too, can have a fresh batch of kouign amann cooling on your counter right now.
- The key to success with kouign amann is not pushing anything too fast. This is why the actual hands-on time is only about 30 minutes, but the pastries still take all afternoon to make. All the downtime is just to give the dough time to rise and to give the butter time to chill in the fridge between laminating steps (called "turns"). Keeping the butter chilled is crucial for creating all the lovely, flakey layers of pastry. If you skimp on chilling time, the butter will get too warm and start being absorbed by the dough; this will give you something tasty, no doubt, but not quite the flakey confection we're aiming for.
- If you don't have a whole afternoon to make the kouign amann from start to finish (or don't want to get up at 6am to make them for breakfast), there are a few places where you can break up the work and make this recipe over a few days. The pastry dough can be mixed, left to rise, and then refrigerated for up to 24 hours before continuing with the recipe. The shaped kouign amann can also be covered, refrigerated overnight, and baked the next morning.Definitely read through the whole recipe and flip through the gallery before you begin. Take it slow and return the pastry to the fridge if you suspect the butter is getting warm. Go one step at a time and I guarantee you'll be nibbling your own kouign amann in no time.
Ingredients
1 cup water, room temperature
2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold salted butter, plus extra to grease the pans (See Recipe Note)
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided, plus extra for shaping the pastries
1 cup water, room temperature
2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold salted butter, plus extra to grease the pans (See Recipe Note)
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided, plus extra for shaping the pastries
- Equipment
Stand mixer, optional
Wooden spoon or stiff spatula
Mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
French rolling pin (see Recipe Notes)
Pastry scraper
Baking sheet
Ruler (not essential, but handy!)
12-cup muffin tin or 12 pastry rings
Pizza wheel or chefs knife
source
http://www.thekitchn.com