EASY KOUIGN-AMANN | RECIPE

KOUIGN-AMANN (pronounced "queen-ah-mahn)

 

Also known as Breton cake, kouign-amann is considered the "fattiest pastry in the world," due to its most iconic ingredient...butter...and lots of it. The kouign-amann...or "butter cake" in Breton, the Celtic language that is native to Brittany...is a caramelized croissant, crispy on the outside and densely moist on the inside. Made with laminated dough, it contains layers of butter incorporated with sugar.

A specialty of the town of Douarnenez in Finistere, Brittany, where it originated around 1860, the pastry is attributed to Yves-Rene Scordia. According to legend, the baker ran out of desserts and improvised with leftover bread dough. He combined the "laminating" technique for making croissants with a healthy amount of sugar, and the result was a pastry with a caramelized, golden crust and a hint of brown butter.

I ate my first kouign-amann, not in Brittany but in Dallas Texas, at Boulangerie Bakery on Greenville Ave. I was living in Dallas at the time, and often stopped by on Saturday mornings for an almond croissant and coffee. One morning they were out of almond croissants, so I decided to try the kouign-amann. Actually, I had considered ordering one a few weeks before, but was afraid I would butcher the pronunciation! Anyway, I overcame my fear and went for it. Of course, it was fabulous! After that, I alternated between the two, and the kouign-amann remains one of my favorites.

This recipe is not an authentic kouign-amann recipe made in the traditional way, but rather a quicker, easier "cheater" version using frozen puff pastry...and they are SO good! I am not a baker or a chef, and I've never made croissants...however, it's on my bucket list. If you happen to be a baker...or aspire to make the real thing...there are plenty of authentic kouign-amann recipes on the internet. But definitely try this one first. You won't regret it!

EASY KOUIGN-AMANN

INGREDIENTS

1 box frozen puff pastry (2 sheets thawed)

1/2- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, mixed with a tsp of orange zest

1/2 cup butter, melted (real butter!)

1 egg for brushing tops before baking

a few pinches of turbinado (raw) sugar to sprinkle on tops before baking

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut out Sixteen 5-inch parchment paper squares. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. Flour a work surface, lay the puff pastry sheets out, and gently roll them to remove the fold lines.

2. Cut a puff pastry sheet in half. With one half, cut eight even strips. (I use a pizza cutter) With the other half, cut eight equal squares. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.

3. Brush the squares generously on both sides with the melted butter. Press one side of each square in the sugar/orange zest and lay each square sugar-side-up on its own parchment paper square. Then brush the strips on both sides with butter and press both sides of each strip in sugar and roll into a loose spiral. Place a spiral on top of each square.

 

4. Lower the parchment paper squares into the wells of a muffin tin. Press them down to fill the wells. (Don't worry about it being too neat) Brush tops with egg, and sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar on tops.

5. Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden brown. 

When you take them out of the oven, place them on a plate, still wrapped in their parchment paper squares and let them cool for about five minutes before eating, as they are very hot!

Enjoy!