In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add yeast and warm water. Stir together until combined. Add bread flour, eggs, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing on medium speed for 6 minutes. The dough should be sticky and elastic, but cohesive.
Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in volume. Remove dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Place dough in a medium bowl, dust a small amount of flour on the top of the dough and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Chill the dough completely in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper that measures at least 12 x 16 inches. With the long side facing you, fold the right and left side toward the middle until the paper is 7 inches wide. The two ends should overlap in the middle. Rotate the paper 90 degrees. Fold the right and left side toward the middle until the paper is 8 inches wide. The two ends may not overlap. Unfold the paper packet and place butter inside the middle rectangle, roughly spreading it into the shape of the rectangle. Fold all flaps over the butter and flip the packet over so the flaps are on the bottom of the packet touching the counter. Using a rolling pin, roll butter into the shape of the rectangle to form an even layer. Place butter block in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
Once the dough and butter are thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Start warming the butter by placing the wrapped block directly on the counter and putting your hands on it. Rotate the packet and flip occasionally to achieve an even temperature. The goal is to warm the butter packet to the point that it’s pliable. It will still feel solid and cool, but it should not break when you try to bend it. If the butter gets too soft at any point, it can be placed back in the refrigerator to firm up again.
Once the butter is pliable, set aside. Dust the counter lightly with flour, place the dough on the counter and lightly dust the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Working quickly, roll the dough out to a 16 x 8-inch rectangle. With the short end of the dough directly in front of you, unwrap the butter and place it in the center of the dough with the short end of the butter also facing you. Fold the long flaps of the dough over the butter to meet in the middle, pinching them together to completely cover the butter.
Note: It’s important to work quickly so neither the butter nor the dough get too warm. Both should be cool to the touch and pliable. The dough can be covered and placed in the refrigerator for a few minutes at any time if it gets too warm or soft.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees. The seam you just created should now be vertical. Lightly dust the counter, dough and rolling pin again if necessary. Roll the dough until it is 20 inches long, stopping often to make sure it isn’t sticking to the counter. Fold the top edge of the dough almost to the bottom edge, stopping 4 inches from the bottom edge. Fold the bottom up to meet the top edge. Using a dry pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Fold entire block in half from top to bottom. Brush off excess flour again. The dough has now been given two “turns.” Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and keep wrapped for 5-10 minutes until the butter inside feels pliable. Mix coarse sugar and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Unwrap the dough and lightly dust the counter, dough and rolling pin with flour. Place the dough with the shorter end facing you, so the previous folds are to your left and right. Roll the dough until it is 20 inches long. Spread ½ cup of coarse sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. From the top edge, fold the dough in thirds, like folding a letter. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan thoroughly with pan spray. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and keep wrapped for 5-10 minutes until it feels pliable. Unwrap the dough. Dust the counter with ¼ cup of the coarse sugar mixture and place the dough on top. Lightly dust the top of the dough and rolling pin again with flour. Rotate the dough 90 degrees from the previous fold so that the folds are to your left and right.
Roll the dough to 20 x 7 inches, adding flour when needed to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of the coarse sugar mixture on top of the dough.
Cut twelve, 3 ¼-inch squares from the dough. You may have a little extra dough. With each square, fold up all four corners into the middle of the square, pressing lightly to make them stick together. Place one kouign-amann in each muffin cup with the corners facing upward.
Cover the muffin pan with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place (78-80°F) for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Remove the plastic wrap or towel and sprinkle each kouign-amann with a teaspoon of coarse sugar. Place the muffin pan on top of a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until deeply golden brown. Immediately unmold the kouign-amann onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Kouign-Amann recipe created by Pastry Chef Jessica Ellington
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add yeast and warm water. Stir together until combined. Add bread flour, eggs, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing on medium speed for 6 minutes. The dough should be sticky and elastic, but cohesive.
Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in volume. Remove dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Place dough in a medium bowl, dust a small amount of flour on the top of the dough and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Chill the dough completely in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper that measures at least 30 x 40 cm. With the long side facing you, fold the right and left side toward the middle until the paper is 18 cm wide. The two ends should overlap in the middle. Rotate the paper 90 degrees. Fold the right and left side toward the middle until the paper is 20 cm wide. The two ends may not overlap. Unfold the paper packet and place butter inside the middle rectangle, roughly spreading it into the shape of the rectangle. Fold all flaps over the butter and flip the packet over so the flaps are on the bottom of the packet touching the counter. Using a rolling pin, roll butter into the shape of the rectangle to form an even layer. Place butter block in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
Once the dough and butter are thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Start warming the butter by placing the wrapped block directly on the counter and putting your hands on it. Rotate the packet and flip occasionally to achieve an even temperature. The goal is to warm the butter packet to the point that it’s pliable. It will still feel solid and cool, but it should not break when you try to bend it. If the butter gets too soft at any point, it can be placed back in the refrigerator to firm up again.
Once the butter is pliable, set aside. Dust the counter lightly with flour, place the dough on the counter and lightly dust the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Working quickly, roll the dough out to a 40 x 20-cm rectangle. With the short end of the dough directly in front of you, unwrap the butter and place it in the center of the dough with the short end of the butter also facing you. Fold the long flaps of the dough over the butter to meet in the middle, pinching them together to completely cover the butter.
Note: It’s important to work quickly so neither the butter nor the dough get too warm. Both should be cool to the touch and pliable. The dough can be covered and placed in the refrigerator for a few minutes at any time if it gets too warm or soft.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees. The seam you just created should now be vertical. Lightly dust the counter, dough and rolling pin again if necessary. Roll the dough until it is 50 cm long, stopping often to make sure it isn’t sticking to the counter. Fold the top edge of the dough almost to the bottom edge, stopping 10 cm from the bottom edge. Fold the bottom up to meet the top edge. Using a dry pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Fold entire block in half from top to bottom. Brush off excess flour again. The dough has now been given two “turns.” Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and keep wrapped for 5-10 minutes until the butter inside feels pliable. Mix coarse sugar and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Unwrap the dough and lightly dust the counter, dough and rolling pin with flour. Place the dough with the shorter end facing you, so the previous folds are to your left and right. Roll the dough until it is 50 cm long. Spread 75 grams of coarse sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. From the top edge, fold the dough in thirds, like folding a letter. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan thoroughly with pan spray. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and keep wrapped for 5-10 minutes until it feels pliable. Unwrap the dough. Dust the counter with 32 grams of the coarse sugar mixture and place the dough on top. Lightly dust the top of the dough and rolling pin again with flour. Rotate the dough 90 degrees from the previous fold so that the folds are to your left and right.
Roll the dough to 50 x 18 cm, adding flour when needed to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the remaining 32 grams of the coarse sugar mixture on top of the dough.
Cut twelve, 8 cm squares from the dough. You may have a little extra dough. With each square, fold up all four corners into the middle of the square, pressing lightly to make them stick together. Place one kouign-amann in each muffin cup with the corners facing upward.
Cover the muffin pan with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place 25-26°C for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Remove the plastic wrap or towel and sprinkle each kouign-amann with a teaspoon of coarse sugar. Place the muffin pan on top of a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until deeply golden brown. Immediately unmold the kouign-amann onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Kouign-Amann recipe created by Pastry Chef Jessica Ellington
