A cousin of the beloved French croissant, this delicious little pastry is an instant hit with everyone who is lucky enough to come across them. Flakey and buttery, these salty-sweet pastries are the perfect addition to your breakfast table. But don’t relegate them only to mornings! Just sweet enough, Kouign Amann also makes for a lovely dessert or indulgent afternoon snack.
Somewhat of a hidden gem with a cult following, Kouign Amann is a specialty of Brittany, only gaining worldwide fame and foodie popularity within the last decade. Pronounced (queen-ah-mahn), it's one of the tastiest pastries you can find, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find them in your average bakery. Kouign Amann is the saltier, sweeter and denser version of a croissant. It's a gorgeous pastry with a tender buttery center made of caramelized layers of pastry, butter, and just the right amount of salt for gorgeous contrast.
Made from laminated dough (also commonly referred to as puff pastry), this is a 50/50 combination of butter and yeasted dough which meet in a famously labor-intensive and time-consuming process. When the dough is done, it contains hundreds of thin layers of butter, created through a series of painstaking folds and turns. Where the croissant maker would stop at this step, those creating Kouign Amann are just getting started. After rolls, folds, and a copious amount of sugar, laced with Brittany’s other culinary claim to fame, Fleur de Sel, Kouign Amann is finally ready for the oven.
Now you can enjoy and serve one of the best pastries in the world without all the fuss or the massive time commitment. The dough is already laminated, the sugar beautifully rolled into each fold, and the pastry perfectly shaped; all that’s left for you to do is turn on the oven! In under an hour, you can experience the fresh-baked taste of authentic French pastry in your kitchen. Sold frozen and ready to bake, convenient and utterly irresistible, you can’t go wrong with any of these tasty choices.
Directions:
Remove from freezer and allow to rest for 20 minutes until thawed. Place the Kouign Amann in a buttered and sugared cupcake mold (optionally, sprinkle with cinnamon as well). Ensure the product is not hard/frozen before baking, which will allow heat to evenly transfer throughout. Bake 375˚F/190˚C for approximately 19 minutes (ovens vary). Remove immediately from the mold to avoid product from sticking.