11/30/2014

Kouign Amann


December /1/2014
Little history on the Kouign Amann pastry
Kouign-amann (pronounced QUEEN-ah-mahn) are made of laminated dough—croissant dough—that's about 50% butter and 50% yeasted dough. They're generously dusted with sugar and salt right before baking, so they develop a thick, caramelized crust that's at once savory and sweet, but, at least with our recipe, mostly savory. Traditionally, kouign-amann are formed in the shape of a large cake, but individual portions made in a cupcake pan or 4 inch wild by 1 inch high, mean equal parts crunchy caramelization and tender, buttery center with every bite.

These salty, buttery pastries hail from the coastal region of Brittany, in the northwest corner of France, where Celtic tradition has prevailed since the Breton people migrated across the English Channel during the fifth and sixth centuries. It looks just like you might imagine a Celtic colony on the seacoast of France would: towering bluffs dropping straight into the sea; tiny stone houses dotting the emerald countryside; slate-colored steeples rising into the morning mist. The region is best-known for its vast salt flats where they harvest the coveted finishing salt, fleur de sel. Here, tucked into wandering village streets, bakeries hawk the much-lauded pastry treasure, whose name literally means "butter cake" in Breton.

I decided to make two different ways and both are very delicious but I put less sugar  (3/4 of a cup).
steps 1: for the dough requires first melting the butter and let it cool. Then mix it with the rest of the ingredients for the dough, which I forgot to take a picture...lol..After 30 minutes rest, the dough is ready to be rolled.
added the soft butter and marked the square.
made the butter package...
make the first fold: rolled at the dough package to a rectangle 13 by 7 inch and folded in to a busies letter and wrap with plastic or a plastic bag and refrigerate for one hour.
make the second turn and roll out the dough to 13 by 7 inch and folded in to a busies letter and wrap with plastic or a plastic bag and refrigerate for another hour.
Make the third turn add half of the sugar on the counter and place the dough on it and roll it out to 14 by 8 inch and add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar on top and roll it and flip a couple of times and them folded in to a busies letter and wrap with plastic or a plastic bag and freeze for 30 minutes and refrigerate for 30 minutes .
prepare the rings and roll out the dough to 16 by 8 inch rectangle it will be about 3/8 inch thick. cut dough into 8 equal pieces. should weight 140 grams each .
Shaping the dough :
Final: I let them set at roomtemp for about 1 hour and a half them baked the pastries: these were made in rings and also add some almonds on top.
these ones were made in large muffin tins and also add some almonds on top. 
 
Baked at 400 F. for 12 minutes and rotate and bake for another 8 to 15 minutes and also I coved them with aluminum foil when they began to look light golden brown.
I find them both very  easy and delicious indeed...

31 comments:

  1. It's nice to know about the muffin pan variation. That actually sounds easier, and should result in less leakage. They both look beautiful!

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    1. hi Marie your are actually right they don't leaking that much and also leds work but it toke a little longer to cook and they taste really good it's like, I couldn't stop eating them they are so good.
      I forgot to mention that I but some almonds on top.
      I don't know I'm having problem with my blogging, I'm not too sure what the problem is but I'm going to be trying to fix it as it goes along because it doesn't look like its in place probably thank you very much again Marie....

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  2. They look delicious sis ! You have that spacial tach keep the good work up sis

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    1. Thank you big sister for your kind words and you should try making them they are so easy and delicious ...

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  3. ב''ה

    Look great. Masterfully done.

    Welcome to the bake along.

    :)

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    1. Thank you Mendy for your kind words. ..

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  4. Hi Maggie. Love your step by step photos! Very detailed! And your pastries look awesome! :)

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    1. Hello Faithy, and thank you so much for your kind words.

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  5. Maggie, your photos are beautiful and the post is very informative. Great idea to add the almonds and to use the muffin pan! I didn't have that much butter leak out on my baking sheet, less than I expected. I'm already planning to make these again soon. So happy to baking along with you and the other Alpha Bakers.

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    1. hello Michele and thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comment, they can be very addictive The K.A. , they are so delicious and easy to make, I must say that after baking and cooling them, I didn't noticing that I eat 3 one after an other, Yummy!

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  6. Hi Maggie - welcome to the bake-along! Your pastries are beautiful!! I love the addition of almonds - great idea. I was thinking next time I might add some apple to the inside, but almonds look so pretty!

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    1. thank you for stopping by and thank you for welcoming me to the bank along to I think that a bit of apples in the inside might just work but not too sure because I think if you put too much cause they're so small they could be too saggy.

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  7. Maggie, welcome to the bake-a-long. Your Kouign looks awesome. What a great idea to add some almonds on top. Which version turns out higher?

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    1. Hello Jenn, and Thank you for your kind words and they both to me look high, but the ones in the muffin tins had to cook a little long.

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  8. You did it, Maggie - your photos are great!! Welcome to the group!! Thanks for visiting my post and leaving such a nice comment. Until next week!

    Patricia @ ButterYum
    http://www.butteryum.org/roses-alpha-bakers/2014/11/6/tbb-kouigns-amann-queen-ya-mahn

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    1. thank you Patricia for your lovely comment and for welcoming me to the bake along too and you knew it was me didn't you ..lol..any ways I did get a scale a digital scale that is because you mention it in your blog and it's coming in soon and it's going to be better for me to use that as I bake , thank you again Patricia.

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  9. such great photos! great post and pastries.

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  10. So happy to see the tutorial :) They look so delicious!

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    1. hi Susan (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) thank for stopping by and for your kind words...p.s they are very delicious,,,

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  11. What a beautiful posting!

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  12. Hi Maggie, wow you were so productive! I love the photo showing the layers - they look wonderful.
    Catherine

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    1. Thank you Catherine for your kind words and you are the first one to see that and say it too.

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  13. Maggie, it's nice to see you blogging again! You did a fabulous job with these pastries - they're among the best I've seen. And I love that you made some in muffin tins...good to know that this works. I'll have to give them a try soon.

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    1. Hi Zosia, I didn't know you could see my blog and thank you so much for your kind words and for stopping by....P.S. they work fine with the large muffin tins and are so delicious...

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  14. I love your almond variation, Maggie! Great to know that this recipe works well in a muffin pan too and with less sugar. Nice experiment! I'll have to make these soon :)

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    1. hi Hanaa , thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind comment and I'll be watching out for your post, they are very delicious and easy to make.

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  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Thank you Karen, they are very delicious! And thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. ..

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  16. this is indeed not only beautiful results but beautiful story and posting. brava Rosa!

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