With the Olympics about to kick off in Paris, if you can’t attend in person, you might want to treat yourself to a traditional French treat. The Kougin Amman is a delicious pastry that originated in Brittany. This recipe from Matthew Cotswold Flour combines the buttery taste of a typical croissant with the sweetness of a patisserie. This melt-in-the-mouth confection is perfect for breakfast, but can be enjoyed throughout the day.
Ingredients:
- 350 g of strong French pastry flour
- 7 g dried yeast
- 220 ml of lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 250g butter (1 block, cold, for rolling)
- 125g Demerara sugar (for the
rolling, plus extra for sprinkling)
- 3 tablespoons milk (for icing beforehand)
pastry shop)
Method:
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- Place the flour, water, salt, yeast and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed for 3 minutes until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and mix again for an additional 8 minutes, pausing halfway through to add the tablespoon of butter.
- Once the dough has risen, place it in a bowl and cover. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in volume.
- Meanwhile, remove your block of butter from its packaging and place it between two sheets of baking paper. Using a rolling pin, crush the butter to flatten it, then roll it out into a 15cm square before returning it to the fridge to firm up again.
- Once your dough has finished rising, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to gently roll it out to a 45cm x 15cm rectangle.
- Now that you have your rectangle in front of you, take your square of butter and place it towards one end of the rectangle. This should cover two-thirds of the dough, leaving one third free.
- Fold the empty third over the butter, then fold the bottom third over the top. This should completely enclose the butter in the dough. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and gently roll it out into a rectangle about the same size as the one you started with, before repeating the folding steps again.
- Repeat this process one more time, but before folding, sprinkle it with half of the demerara sugar, then once three sets of folds have been made, remove the dough from the fridge and roll it into a large rectangle (approximately 45cm x 30cm). Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar again.
- Cut the rectangle into squares using a sharp knife, then fold each of the four corners of the square towards the middle before pressing it into a greased muffin tin. The dough should now resemble a clover.
- Once each of the pastries are inside, sprinkle them with sugar again.
- Let rise, loosely covered, for 20 to 30 minutes or until puffed. Preheat oven to 210 degrees Celsius while you wait.
- Brush each biscuit gently with milk, then sprinkle one last time with sugar for a better crunch.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the top is nicely puffed and golden brown. Remove from the pan after 5 minutes and let cool on a wire rack. Wait until it reaches room temperature before enjoying.
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