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French

Kouign-amann

Vegetarian

Brittany's caramelised 'butter cake': laminated bread dough folded with salted butter and sugar, baked in tins until the outside is a glassy, crackling caramel and the inside flaky and tender.

Kouign-amann is a French pastry from France, ready in about 4 hours 33 minutes and made with bread flour, butter and sugar. It serves 12 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
50 min
Cook
28 min
Rest
3 h 15 min
Total
4 h 33 min
Serves
12
Level
Advanced
Calories
284

Ingredients

12 kouignettes

Dough

Lamination

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, water, yeast, salt and melted butter (opens in a new tab) and knead 5 minutes to a smooth dough. Cover and leave 1 hour at room temperature, then flatten into a rectangle and chill 30 minutes.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Beat the cold butter (opens in a new tab) into a 15 cm square between baking paper. Roll the dough to 30 × 15 cm, enclose the butter and give one single (letter) fold. Chill 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Roll into a long strip again, scatter half of the 150 g sugar (opens in a new tab) over it and give a second letter fold. Chill 20 minutes, then repeat with the remaining folding sugar for the third fold. Work quickly from now on: sugar draws moisture from the dough and turns syrupy.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Butter (opens in a new tab) a 12-hole muffin tin (opens in a new tab) generously and sprinkle each hole with sugar (opens in a new tab). Roll the dough about 5 mm thick on a sugared surface and cut 12 squares of 10 cm. Fold the four corners into the centre, press down and set each in a muffin hole.

  5. Step 5

    Proof at cool room temperature (up to 24 °C) for 30–45 minutes until slightly puffy. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 190 °C (fan 170 °C) with a tray on the shelf below to catch drips.

    • Step 6

      Bake 25–30 minutes until a deep amber caramel colour all over. Immediately turn them out onto baking paper or a rack — once the caramel cools in the tin they stick fast. Cool 15 minutes before eating.

      Food safety: Molten sugar and butter cause serious burns: wear gloves when turning out and don't touch the caramel until cooled.

    About this dish

    Origin
    Brittany (Douarnenez), France · Well documentedOriginally a single large cake; individual kouignettes in muffin tins are now very common.Also popular in United StatesMore food from France
    Dish
    Breakfast · Snack · Dessert · Pastries · Cakes
    Cooking method
    Oven-baked, Fermented
    Taste
    buttery, sweet, salty, rich
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
    All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Festive & celebration
    Cook more with
    Bread flour · Butter · Sugar · Instant yeast
    Techniques
    Baking · Kneading · Reduction · Fermentation

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom butter
    • Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour
    • Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    284 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 71 g · recipe makes 12

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 4%
    • Carbohydrate 49%
    • Fat 47%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
    Energy284 kcal401 kcal
    Protein3.2 g4.6 g
    Carbohydrate34.9 g49.3 g
    Net carbohydrate34.2 g48.3 g
    Sugars16.7 g23.6 g
    Added sugars16.7 g23.5 g
    Fibre0.7 g0.9 g
    Fat15 g21.1 g
    Saturated fat9.3 g13.1 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol39 mg54 mg
    Sodium278 mg392 mg
    Salt equivalent0.7 g1 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    32 mg
    Calcium
    10 mg
    Iron
    1.1 mg
    Magnesium
    7 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    123 µg
    Vitamin C
    0 mg
    Vitamin D
    0 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    78 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Don't be timid with the colour — pale kouign-amann are soft and greasy rather than crackly.

    Common mistakes

    • Leaving the sugared dough to sit, so it weeps and the layers merge.

    Serve with

    • Slightly warm, with coffee or cider.

    Storage

    • Best within a few hours; the caramel softens overnight.

    Reheating

    • Re-crisp in a 180 °C oven for 4 minutes.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    Structure

    Dough

    Used in steps 1, 2, 4

    Baker’s notes

    Customise in Bread & Bakery

    Timeline and readiness cues

    1. Mix and knead · about 50 min

      Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).

    2. First rise (bulk) · about 1 h

      About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.

    3. Rest · about 1 h 20 min

      Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

    4. Final proof · about 40 min

      Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.

    5. Bake · about 28 min at 190 °C

      Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

    6. Cool · about 15 min

      Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

    7. Start to finish: about 4 h 33 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

    The dough

    The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
    IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
    Bread flourFlour300 g100%
    WaterWater190 g63.3%
    ButterFat15 g5%
    SaltSalt5 g1.7%
    Instant yeastYeast3 g1%
    Total flour
    300 g
    Hydration
    63.3%
    With milk, eggs…
    63.3%
    Wholegrain
    0%

    Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

    • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
    • Salt 1.7% — normal for bread.

    If something goes wrong

    • Pale crust

      Likely causes

      • Oven too cool
      • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
      • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

      What to do

      • Check the oven with a thermometer
      • Brush with egg wash or milk
      • Shorten the fermentation
    • Burnt bottom

      Likely causes

      • Tray too close to the heat
      • Dark tray absorbs more heat
      • Too much sugar in the dough

      What to do

      • Bake on the middle shelf
      • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
      • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
    • Dough didn't rise

      Likely causes

      • Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
      • Kitchen too cold
      • Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
      • Starter not active

      What to do

      • Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
      • Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
      • Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
      • Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
    • Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)

      Likely causes

      • Too warm
      • Too much yeast
      • Left too long

      What to do

      • Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
      • Use less yeast or a cooler proof
      • Set a timer and check early with the poke test
    • Pastry didn't puff or layers leaked butter

      Likely causes

      • Butter too warm and melted into the dough
      • Layers sealed when cutting
      • Oven not hot enough

      What to do

      • Chill between folds; keep everything cold
      • Cut straight down with a sharp knife — don't drag
      • Bake hot (200–220 °C) so the water in the butter steams the layers apart

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