This recipe for the laborious and delicious kouign-amann uses a shortcut food-processor dough. The dough takes no time to mix and can be used for all sorts of pastries, namely the buttery, sugary, heavenly kouign-aman.

A single Kouign-Amann on a plate.

Of all of the pastries I have made with Nigella’s Lawson’s cheater’s croissant dough, kouign-amann is the simplest, and it might be my favorite. The only addition to the master dough recipe here is sugar — there are no egg washes, no fillings, no toppings. Originating from Brittany, France, kouign-amann caramelize so beautifully in the oven, and they disappear quickly — truly, they are irresistible. You likely have all of the ingredients on hand to make these but do remember to plan ahead.

To review, the dough, made mostly in the food processor with butter, flour, yeast, requires a night’s rest in the fridge. And on shaping day, it requires rolling and folding and rolling and folding and rolling and folding. In the case of kouign-amann, it requires another night in the fridge. If, for example, you want freshly baked kouign-amann on a Sunday, you start Friday night.

I fell for Nigella Lawson’s cheater’s pastry dough when I made her cheese Danishes with lemon-ricotta filling, and the experience taught me that the laborious process so often called for to make flaky, buttery pastries is wholly unnecessary. I’ve never looked back, and I encourage you to do the same.

PS: Easy Cheese Danishes

How to Make Kouign-Amann, Step by Step

First, you’ll make the cheater’s croissant dough:

Kouign-Amann dough ready to be rolled.

Next, roll it into an 8×12-inch rectangle:

Kouign-Amann dough rolled into an 8x12-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle it with sugar:

Kouign-Amann dough rolled into an 8x12-inch rectangle and sprinkled with sugar.

Flip, sprinkle with sugar, and cut into six equal squares, each 4×4 inches:

Kouign-Amann dough rolled into an 8x12-inch rectangle, sugared, and cut into 6 equal squares.

Working with one square at a time, pinch the corners into the center:

One pinched Kouign-Amann next to 5 squares of dough ready to be pinched.

Once all of the squares have been pinched…

Six unbaked Kouign-Amann ready to be transferred to a muffin tin.

Transfer them to a buttered muffin tin (the dough recipe yields two portions, each yielding 6 kouign-amann). Transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight.

A muffin tin filled with unbaked Kouign-Amann.

Remove the pan from the fridge one hour before you plan on baking to let the kouign-amann proof at room temperature:

A muffin tin filled with proofed Kouign-Amann, ready to be baked.

Bake for 25 minutes or until caramelized to your liking:

Just-baked Kouign-Amann in a muffin tin.
A muffin tin filled with just-baked Kouign-Amann.

Transfer to a rack to cool briefly before serving:

A dozen baked Kouign-Amann on a cooling rack.

Heaven!

A single Kouign-Amann on a plate.

This batch of shaped kouign-amann spent a night in the fridge. The longer overnight proof, helps them caramelize:

kouign amann

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A single Kouign-Amann on a plate.

Cheaters Kouign-Amann

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Description

This recipe for the laborious and delicious kouign-amann uses a shortcut food-processor dough. The dough takes no time to mix and can be used for all sorts of pastries, namely the buttery, sugary, heavenly kouign-aman.

Source: Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Notes: This processor Danish pastry dough should rest in the fridge overnight, and the shaped kouign amann also rest in the fridge overnight. 

Ingredients

for the pastry:

  • 1/4 cup (60 grams) water, room temperature or tap 
  • 1/2 cup (125 grams) milk, 2% or whole
  • 1 large egg 
  • 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons (7 grams) instant yeast
  • 1.5 teaspoons (6 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar
  • 1 cup (227 grams) butter, salted or unsalted, cold, cut into thin slices

for the kouign-amann:

  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

Instructions

  1. Mix the dough: In a medium bowl or 2-cup liquid measure, whisk together the water, milk, and egg. In a food processor, blend together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar until well combined. Add the cold butter, and pulse 10 to 12 times at 1-second intervals, until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Transfer the contents of the food processor to a large bowl. Add the water-milk-egg mixture, and, using a spatula, stir until you have a wet, sticky mass. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (but ideally for 24 hours) or up to 4 days. 
  2. Roll it out: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two equal portions, each roughly 384 grams. Pat each portion into a rough square. Set one aside while you begin working on the next: using flour as needed, roll the square out, flipping it as needed to prevent sticking, until you have a shape 10- to 11-inches wide/tall — it’s OK if, at this point, it looks a little misshapen. Fold the dough envelope-style: the top third down over the dough, then the bottom third up. Then fold the right third of the dough from right to left and then from left to right, to ultimately create a square. (see photos for reference). You’ve now completed one set of folds. Repeat this process 3 more times: roll the dough out into a large, thin square, then fold the dough envelope-style from top to bottom and from right to left. By the end of the four sets, the dough will be smooth, and there should be little to no visible signs of butter flecking the dough.
  3. Chill it: Transfer the folded dough to an airtight container and transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 2 days. At this point, the dough can be frozen. Repeat with the remaining portion of the dough.
  4. To make the kouign-amann: Butter a 12-cup muffin tin. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into an 8×12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the surface with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Gently pat the sugar into the dough. Flip the rectangle. Sprinkle with another 2 tablespoons of sugar. Gently pat again. Cut the dough into 6 squares (each 4×4 inches). Lift the corners of each square and press into the center (see photos above for a visual representation). Fit each pinched parcel into a muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining dough to create 12 kouign-amann in total. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.
  5. Bake: About an hour before baking, remove the pan from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons of sugar over the top of the pastries. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool briefly before serving.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Pastry
  • Cuisine: American, French