Kouign Amann
Dec 15, 2015
There are many things I miss from France. Places, lifestyle, friends, smells… but most of all I miss the food.
Even though I can make at home most of the recipes, it usually takes me a few sessions of trial and error before achieving something close to the original.
Last week I had a successful trial with the Merveilleux. Now I'm back to my beloved Kouign Amann.
In case you're wondering what the hell it is (to be honest, I did it when I heard about it the first time), kouign amann is a regional pastry from Brittany, in north-western France. Together with the kouign amann, the Bretons provide all the best food (and butter!) you could ever, ever ask for. Everything they cook is amazing and I'm a very big fan of their cuisine. This is a must-go place for me next time I visit France, for sure!
However, much to my surprise, it looks like kouign amann is somewhat popular in the US (never saw them here in Canada though) but most of the recipes I found online didn't turn out to be anywhere like the real deal. I obviously have one from school, but it calls for fresh yeast and, well… that is almost impossible to find here.
Looking here and there, I managed to successfully merge the recipe from David Lebovitz and from 750g. The result was something really, really close to the kouign amann I used to have in a Breton pastry shop close to my friend's house in Montmartre. So close I couldn't stop eating. Seriously.
So, to make this croissant-like pastry with lots of butter and caramelized sugar you'll only need a few but good ingredients.
First thing is butter. Salted butter is a must here. For this recipe I used salted dry butter from a small Canadian cremerie which, apart from the price, is the best butter I can put my hands on without going bankrupt.
If you can find fresh yeast, use it, since I find the final result is more flavorful this way. Otherwise, you can use active dry yeast (but not the instant, it won't work the same way).
And finally, forget about diet, calories and all that. It is indeed a lot of butter and a lot of sugar. But I swear to you, there are few things in this world that will make you feel like you're in buttery, caramel heaven, and this is one of them. You have to try it!
