Today, I have a special recipe for you. To be honest, it’s one of my favourite French pastry ! If you have the opportunity to taste this pastry, I truly recommend you to buy a Kouign Amman. This buttery cake is so sweet, crispy and soft at the same time. Originally from Britain, the Kouign amann is now a must in bakery shops. Here I give you what I see as the best (and easiest) recipe from Cyril Lignac. And fun fact : it requires pretty simple ingredients !
Here is the full recipe :
RECIPE
220 g flour
6 g salt
133 g water
3 g de fresh yeast
180 g butter
110 g sugar
coarse sugar (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Put the flour, salt, water and yeast in pastry mixer (using the hook) and knead for 5 min at a very low speed, then 10 min a low/medium speed. Becareful, the salt shouldn’t stir together. Salt damages yeast when we mix them directly in contact.
Remove the dough on a work surface and roll it out in a rectangle. Set aside 45 min in the refrigerator.
Fill the center of the dough with butter and close by folding the edges like a wallet. The butter and the dough should have the same texture. It’s exactly the same process as turning (to make croissants). Set aside 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Roll out the dough to form a rectangle by reversing the direction (layers should be on the sides). Fold and set aside in the refrigerator for one hour. Repeat this this step once more.
Roll out the dough and spread the sugar over the entire surface of the dough. Fold into a wallet.
Roll out the dough one last time to a thickness of 5 mm, then cut 8 cm wide strips.
Fold the tips of the rectangles towards the center, then roll the dough on itself.
Do the same for each piece.
Place them on the slice in a 22 cm diameter mould. You can add coarse sugar to give it more crunch.
Let the dough rise for 45 minutes in a temperate environment, then put in the oven for 50 min at 175 °C.
I suggest you to wait until your cake is lukewarm before tasting it !
Here's what you should get :
The outside should be crispy (like a croissant) and caramelized
The bottom of your cake is sticky and shiny because of the sugar
The inside is soft and honeycombed
Now that you know the complete method to make one of the best Kouign amann of Paris, please tag me on Instagram to show me your creations (@theparisbest_baking). I would be so glad to give you my personal feedback and repost your post !
I hope that you enjoyed this recipe.
See you soon on The Paris-Best
Lea from The Paris-Best
Comments