If you are looking for a diet cake, move on. Kouign-amann is a pastry that requires butter, sugar and a little more butter. Kouign-amann actually means “butter cake” in Breton.
Made from bread dough, kouig-amann is a real delight. When cooked, it transforms into a wonderful caramelized puff pastry thanks to the mixture of sugar and melted butter. We love this crunchy-melting texture that made it famous.
And yet, if the kouign-amann is known throughout the world, its history remains much less popular. In order to better understand how this cake is made, we reveal its secrets to you.
The invention of butter cake
In 1860, Yves-René Scordia was a baker in Douarnenez. On a busy day, he tried to quickly fill his display case with the ingredients he had. He therefore made a dough composed of 300 g butter, 300 g sugar and 400 g flour. These unusual proportions can be explained by the shortage of flour that was rife at the time. Conversely, butter and sugar were available in abundance. Using the technique of puff pastry, he managed to make a sort of cake that he put to bake.
When it came out of the oven, it was a delicious cake with a golden, caramelized crust. It was an immediate success, to the point that kouign-amann became the establishment’s specialty.
Fortunately, Yves-René Scordia then passed the recipe on to his daughter and son-in-law. The tradition was thus perpetuated. However, it was not until the following century that kouign-amann really became famous, thanks to tourism. Many establishments across France then began to offer their own version.
Faced with the abusive use of the name “kouign-amann”, a group of artisans took action. Together, they created the Douarnenez Kouign-amann association in 1997. The aim was to promote and enhance this local speciality. They thus obtained a label and a PGI to distinguish authentic kouign-amann from imitations. Incidentally, you should know that this pastry is traditionally eaten plain. The mere mention of strawberries or chocolate in the recipe can make Douarnenists faint.
Over the years, kouign-amann has become a more than serious matter for the Bretons. A competition rewarding the best kouign-amann is notably organized each year. The evaluation focuses on the appearance of the product and its tasting. We would like to send our application if ever the jury is looking for new tasters!
Last anecdote, the kouign-amann, like the bouillabaisse, has entered the record books. Measurements of the baby: 144 kg for 2.07 m in diameter. 72 kg of dough were thus needed to produce this colossal pastry. The record was approved in 2001 in Douarnenez, on the occasion of a telethon. A historic record which confirms the superiority of Douarnenez artisans in this field.
Love story: kouign-amann in the United States
In the 90s, kouign-amann was exported to Japan before reaching the United States the following decade. It’s fair to say that the encounter between this Breton specialty and the Americans was love at first sight. In 2018, it was ranked among the 40 best recipes of all time by Food & Wine, a gastronomic magazine. A great advertisement for our culinary heritage. On the other hand, we’re not sure we’ll forgive them for their idea of replacing bread dough with pizza dough…
Is kouign-amann “the new croissant” for Americans? It seems so. Far from finding it too fatty or too sweet, many stars have definitely adopted it. Emily Ratajkowski, the famous model, is said to eat it every day for breakfast.
After all, what’s better than a kouign-amann to start the day?
The recipe for Breton kouign-amann
As the Breton proverb says, “If you want to, you can do it”, because making a successful kouig-amann is not easy. In fact, this recipe requires you to become familiar with the technique of puff pastry. It may take a few tries, especially if you are a beginner.
Preparation: 40 min
Cooking: 30 min
For 6 persons
- 10 g of baker’s yeast
- 10 g of unsalted butter + for the mold
- 300 g flour
- 200 g softened semi-salted butter
- 200 g caster sugar + for the mold
Mix the yeast with 20 cl of lukewarm water.
Melt the unsalted butter.
On your work surface, pour the flour and make a well. Add the yeast and butter to the center, then knead until the dough becomes soft and smooth. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. The dough should double in volume.
Roll out the dough on the work surface to form a large crepe. Spread the salted butter on top, leaving 2 cm around the edge. Cover with sugar. Fold the crepe to form a triangle and let it rest for a few minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Generously butter a cake tin or pastry ring and line it with sugar.
Roll out the dough again into a round shape. Fold it into four like an envelope. Then roll it out to form a long rectangle, then cut it into eight strips. Roll the strips up tightly into a spiral shape and place them side by side in the mold.
Bake the kouign-amann for 30 min. If you see that the top is browning too quickly, you can cover it with aluminum foil.
Unmold the cake and serve warm.
We recommend that you do not keep the kouign-amann for more than 2 days. Beyond that, it loses its crispness and softness. For a consistently successful tasting, reheat it for a few minutes in the oven at 160°C.
You can also make several and freeze them. That way, you’ll always have some in advance. Perfect for following Emily Ratajkowski’s example and devouring them every morning (or almost).
