Kay, We’re at the end of the Pastry series (or are we… I MIGHT have a bonus recipe/video in 2 weeks… Okay I totally will). Â ANYWAY I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have (I can attest I’ve gained a TON of weight working on these recipes). Â I love that you can make so much with the same basic layered dough and I hope you guys have learned a lot from the videos!
With a sweet, crunchy outside and a melt in your mouth, soft, flaky center the kouign amann is a food lovers DREAM!  It has a reputation for being difficult to make, and I will admit it took a few tries to get it right, but I love love LOVE it, it’s my new favorite and you’ll probably be seeing these a lot in my instagram feed!
I think I’ve made close to 8 batches of layered pastry doughs over the last few months working on this series. The basic dough recipe is one I’ve used for years, the techniques come from all sorts of different videos and sources that I’ve tried and figured out what works best! Good luck and HAVE FUN!
The Dough (in the video I mention rolling out and folding and rolling out and folding – turns 1 and 2 – without refrigerating between, I highly suggest you not cut corners and refrigerate after every turn)
The Kouign Amann – This tutorial deviates from the Pain Au Chocolat and the Croissants starting during the 4th turn of the dough!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 C whole milk warmed
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 3/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp butter softened and cut into small chunks
Butter block
- 1 1/2 c butter cold
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp salt
sugar layers
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
Instructions
Dough
- In your mixing bowl add milk, yeast and sugar together and let proof 5-10 mins until the yeast is dissolved.
- Add the flour, salt and 2 Tbsp softened butter to the warm milk mixture. Mix with a dough hook until it's combined, then mix 2-3 more mix until it's smooth (if you don't have a bosch you can knead by hand about 5 mins)
- Let the dough sit (covered) for 1 hour (or until doubled in size).
Butter Block
- With your hands, on the counter (or in your Bosch) mix the cold butter, flour, sugar and salt until it is without lumps. Work quickly to keep the butter cold.
- Place the butter on plastic wrap and shape it into a 9x7 in rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate the butter 30 mins
Dough part 2
- knock the dough down, knead lightly in the bowl and refrigerate for 30-45 mins.
- Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to a 15 x 8 inch rectangle.
- Take the rectangle of butter and place over 2/3 of the dough leaving a 1/2 inch border on 3 of the side and about 5 inches on the other. Fold over the excess 5 inches of dough then fold over the buttered side like you were folding a business letter. Seal the edges and rotate 1/4 turn.
- Roll out the dough/butter into a 18x8 rectangle, fold into thirds again (first turn) - wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 mins
- Repeat 2 more times (roll out, fold, refrigerate - 2nd and 3rd turns)
- Roll out the dough a 4th time and sprinkle it with 2 Tbsp of sugar, fold it into third again and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight (at this point the dough can also be frozen, let thaw completely before proceeding.).
- roll out into a 16x12 inch rectangle, about a 1/4 inch thick, using 1/4 C of sugar on each side and let stand for 5 mins.
- Cut the rough edges off leaving a perfect 16x12 rectangle
- cut into 3 inch squares
- pinch in corners
- rub a muffin tin with softened butter, then roll sugar around
- add the dough, cover with plastic wrap (sprayed with bakers joy), and let rise until slighly poofy, about 20 mins
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 mins.
Video
Nutrition
Don’t forget, if there are recipes you’d like to see turned into videos LET ME KNOW! Otherwise I’ll keep making my favorites!
Lois
This recipe looks great! Did you use bread flour or all purpose flour?
Ashlee
All purpose!