There’s nothing better than butter and sugar - and this Breton classic absolutely makes the best of this combination! Butter and sugar are laminated to make a moreish and decadent little pastry, perfect enjoyed with a café au lait for a true taste of France. I use Demerara sugar in my Kouign Amann recipe to get a deeper flavour and to give the tops more of a crunch, but otherwise this recipe is best kept simple!

  • Baker: Sophie Carey
  • Makes: 12-16 pastries
  • Prep time: 50 minutes plus chilling and proving time
  • Bake time: 25-30 minutes
  • Flours used: French Strong Patisserie Flour

Kouign Amann Recipe Method

  1. Place the flour, water, salt, yeast, and caster sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on a slow speed for 3 minutes until all the ingredients are incorporated 
  2. Turn the speed up to a medium-high speed and mix again for a further 8 minutes, taking a break halfway through to add the tablespoon of butter 
  3. Once the dough has been well developed, place in a bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size  
  4. During this time, take your block of butter out of its wrapper and place it between two sheets of baking paper. Use a rolling pin to bash the butter to flatten it, then roll it into a 15cm square before putting it back into the fridge to firm up again 
  5. Once your dough is finished proving, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and begin gently rolling it out to achieve a 25cm x 10cm rectangle (all this maths is worth it in the end!) 
  6. Now that you have your rectangle in front of you, take your butter square and place it towards one end of the rectangle. This should cover two thirds of the dough, leaving one third free 
  7. Fold the empty third down over the butter, then fold the bottom third up over that. This should encase the butter completely in the dough. Wrap and leave to chill for 20 minutes in the fridge  
  8. After chilling, take the dough from the fridge and gently roll it out to make a rectangle of about the same size as you started with, before repeating the folding steps again 
  9. Do this whole process one more time, but before you fold it up springle it with half of the demerara sugar, then once three sets of folds have been completed, take the dough from the fridge and roll into a large rectangle (I aim for about 45cm x 30cm). Sprinkle once more generously with more of the demerara sugar 
  10. Cut the rectangle into squares using a sharp knife, and then fold each of the four corners of the square into the middle before pushing it into a greased muffin tin. The pastry should resemble a clover at this point 
  11. Once each of the pastries is in, give them another sprinkle of sugar  
  12. Leave lightly covered to prove for 20-30 minutes or until puffy, Preheat the oven to 210 degrees celsius while you wait  
  13. Gently brush each one with the milk, then do a final sprinkle of sugar for the best crunch  
  14. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown on the top. Remove from the tin after 5 minutes and cool further on a wire rack - wait until cooled to room temperature before you enjoy (if you can!) 

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