laminated dough

Kouign-Amann are made with sugared, laminated dough baked in muffin tins. Part sticky bun and part sugared croissant, these are delicious! This recipe includes tons of step-by-step photos and recipe notes so you can make these amazing pastries at home, too!

Kouign-Amann

water (at room temperature)

instant yeast

all-purpose flour

salt

butter

sugar

Make the Dough: Combine the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a mixing bowl, if kneading by hand). Add the flour and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed.

Fit the mixer with a dough hook attachment and knead the dough at low speed until the dough is slightly tacky but smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. If the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time and knead until the dough is smooth. If the dough feels very stiff and dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and knead until the dough is smooth.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl that has been lightly greased with butter, turning the dough to coat it with butter. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. [MAKE-AHEAD NOTE: At this point, you can refrigerate the dough overnight, then proceed with the recipe.]

Make the Butter Block: Beat the butter on low speed until it’s homogeneous and waxy in texture, about 3 minutes, scraping the beater and bowl as needed to break up the cubes. Turn the butter out onto a piece of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle about 6 inches by 10 inches. Wrap up the butter in the parchment paper, pressing out any air. Gently roll a rolling pin over the butter packet, pushing the butter into the corners to create a perfect rectangle with even thickness. Refrigerate until firm yet still pliable, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Roll out the Dough: Place the chilled dough onto a floured work surface and roll into a rectangle 12 inches by 20 inches. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and place it in the middle of the dough. Fold one half of the dough over the butter, then fold the other half on top, like folding a letter. Roll it out slightly to press the layers together, then fold it again into thirds like a letter.

“Turn the Dough” #1: Rotate the dough so that the open, narrower edge is facing you. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 12 inches wide by 20 inches long. Fold the top third down and bottom third up, again like folding a letter. Place the packet of dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

“Turn the Dough” #2: Place the packet of dough on a floured surface with the open, narrower edge facing you. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 12 inches wide by 20 inches long. Fold the top third down and bottom third up, again like folding a letter. Place the packet of dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. [MAKE-AHEAD NOTE: At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap, place in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed with the recipe.]

“Turn the Dough” #3: Place the packet of dough on a floured surface with the open, narrower edge facing you. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 12 inches wide by 20 inches long. Sprinkle the entire surface of the dough with ¾ cup of the sugar, then press lightly to help it stick to the dough. Fold the top third down and bottom third up, again like folding a letter. If any sugar falls out, press it back into the folds. Place the packet of dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

“Turn the Dough” #4: Place the packet of dough on a floured surface with the open, narrower edge facing you. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 12 inches wide by 20 inches long. Sprinkle the entire surface of the dough with ¾ cup of the sugar, then press lightly to help it stick to the dough. Fold the top third down and bottom third up, again like folding a letter. If any sugar falls out, press it back into the folds. Place the packet of dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare the Muffin Tin: Grease the insides of a standard 12-cup muffin pan generously with butter. Set aside.

Shape the Kouign-Amann: Sprinkle the work surface with sugar. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to the counter. Sprinkle a little additional sugar over the top of the dough. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 8 inches wide by 24 inches long.

Slice the dough down the length to form two strips that are 4 inches wide by 24 inches long. Cut each strip into 4-inch squares to create 12 squares. Fold the corners of each square toward the center. Pick up each pastry and tuck it firmly into the muffin pan; it will feel like you’re squishing the pastry in there! [MAKE-AHEAD NOTE: At this point, you can cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, allow the pastries to come to room temperature and rise for 1 hour before baking.]

Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until slightly puffy, 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the Kouign-Amann: Set the muffin pan on a rimmed baking sheet, place in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Bake until the pastries are deep golden brown and tips are very dark brown, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the pastries stand until they are just cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Gently remove them from the muffin pan and set them on the cooling rack to finish cooling completely. The kouign amann can be served warm or at room temperature. They are best served the same day they are made.

https://embed.mediavine.com/videos/zopjegk8moprdymhvfbc

Morning buns are flaky and sweet, with layers from the lamination. The base laminated yeasted danish dough is a fun, easy project.

Cinnamon and Cardamom Morning Buns

whole milk,

egg,

yolk,

bread flour

granulated sugar

unsalted butter,

Tbsp salt

vanilla bean paste

Unsalted butter,

dark brown sugar

cinnamon

tsp cardamom

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together milk, egg, egg yolk, and yeast. Add the flour, sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla bean paste, and mix at low speed until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place, about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and shape into a 8”x10” (20x25cm) rectangle. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and dusted with a little flour (a quarter sheet pan is perfect for this), and wrap tightly in plastic wrap (I wrapped the whole pan in plastic and then placed it inside a large plastic bag just for some insurance). Refrigerate overnight.

DANISH DOUGH

In a small bowl, combine the butter and bread flour. Place onto a large piece of parchment, and shape into a 6”x9” rectangle on the bottom half of the parchment. Fold down the parchment to wrap up the butter block, and use a bench scraper to square it off. Refrigerate overnight.

BUTTER BLOCK

Roll to 12”x 18” (30x45cm), Letter fold 1

Roll to 12”x18” (30x45cm), Letter fold 2

Roll to 12”x18” (30x45cm), Letter fold 3

LAMINATIONS

Transfer the danish dough to the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up slightly. In a medium bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and mix together until smooth.

Brush the cups of a 12 tray muffin pan with melted butter and dust with granulated sugar, tapping out the excess.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a rectangle about 8”x12”, 20x30cm. (the measurement you need to strictly stick to here is the width, otherwise the roll will be too fat to fit into the muffin tins).

Spread the surface of the dough evenly with the filling, leaving a 1/2” border on a long edge. Then, starting on the opposite long side, roll up the dough into a tight spiral. Trim the ends if needed. Measure your log of dough and cut into 1” rolls. Place rolls, cut side up, into prepared muffin cups, pressing gently to help the dough fill the cups.

Cover the pan lightly (I put it inside a big clear bag), and leave to rise in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the rolls are puffy and when lightly poked with a finger, a small indentation is left.

When there is 15 minutes to go on your rise, preheat your oven to 375°f / 190°c.

Bake the buns until golden brown and a thermometer inserted in the centre registers 200°f /95°f, 20 to 25 minutes. Begin checking for doneness at 18 minutes and watch them carefully. Add foil half way through if needed to prevent excess browning (I did not need to). While the buns are baking, combine all the ingredients for the finishing sugar in a shallow bowl.

Let the buns cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Remove from the pans and toss in the finishing sugar. Let cool completely.

Store leftovers lightly covered at room temperature. Refresh in the microwave if needed.

MORNING BUN ASSEMBLY

My first time making anything like this. Instructions were easy to follow and very detailed. They turned out amazing! Thank you :)

Never saw your reply, and ended up preparing you exact recipe, but folded them as croissants and worked out perfectly!! Thanks for your great recipes!! 🌹

There aren’t enough good things to say about this recipe!!  The instructions are detailed and clear.  The dough is so easy to work with.  And while it does take a number of steps, you end up with bonus dough in the freezer for an even easier set of buns the next weekend!  The first batch I made 100% true to the recipe. I knew as soon as I saw the perfect layers of dough and butter it was gonna be good. And they were the perfect combination of cinnamon roll and croissant. Flaky edges, doughy interior. Perfect!  You noticed the cardamom, but it was just the right amount.  For the second half I switched up the filling - less butter, white sugar, zest of a whole orange and more cardamom than cinnamon. Also excellent!  Even from the freezer this dough was easy to work with. Because these were so good, I knew I could play a little without messing them up I tried baking half in just a cookie sheet, not in a muffin cup. They were flakier and spread more, but if you want shatteringly crisp layers, this worked!  Again, can’t say enough about how great this morning bun be recipe is!

Creamy on the inside and flaky on the outside with just a hint of char, Portuguese custard tarts are an absolute delicacy and a marvel of the pastry world. 



Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pasteis de Nata) Recipe

all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling

water, divided

salted butter,

water

half-and-half or whole milk

To prepare the pastry, in a medium bowl, stir (or use your fingertips) to combine the flour, salt, and ½ cup water until the dough looks shaggy.

Transfer the dough to a clean countertop and lightly knead it to combine, adding remaining water as needed just until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Flour your surface and roll the rested dough to a 16- to 18-inch square.

Spread to coat the dough evenly with ½ cup butter, leaving a small border along the edges.

Cut slits in the square in thirds on the top and bottom, leaving the center ⅓ uncut.

Starting on the right, fold the top and bottom portions of the dough over the center.

Flip the right side square of dough over the center square. Fold over the top and bottom sections.

Repeat one final time with the remaining left side of the square.

Wrap the dough gently with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

In the meantime, to prepare the sugar syrup, stir to combine the sugar, water, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon stick and lemon peel if you're using, in a small pot.

Bring to a boil, and continue to boil over medium heat for 1 minute.

Remove the pot from the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick and lemon peel if needed.

In another small pot, whisk the milk and flour to combine, and cook, whisking, until the mixture is scalding. Slowly whisk in the sugar syrup to combine. Remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until smooth.

Slowly whisk about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks.

Return the mixture to the pot and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened enough to just coat the back of a spoon. Avoid overcooking, which could cause it to curdle.

Strain the custard into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface. Chill until ready to use (or for up to two days).

Once the dough has chilled, transfer it back to a floured surface and roll to a 16x20-inch rectangle.

Spread to coat the dough with the remaining ¼ cup butter, leaving a small border along the edges.

Trim the edges and roll tightly starting on one of the short ends to form a log.

Cut the log in half, then refrigerate until cold (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Trim the ends, then use a sharp knife to cut each log into 8 to 9 slices.

Stir and let the custard filling stand, covered, at room temperature.

Grab two standard muffin pans and a small cup of cold water.

Wet your fingers, then press one section of dough into each well of the muffin pan, working it up the sides until the dough is evenly thin and coats the muffin well about ¾ of the way up. Avoid sealing the top edges of the dough as you work.

Repeat with the remaining dough sections, discarding any excess dough, to form 16 tarts.

Use a small scoop to portion the custard into each well, filling them about ¾ of the way to the top of the dough.

Bake one pan at a time (chilling the remaining pan in the refrigerator until ready to bake) for 10-12 minutes, keeping an eye on them using an oven light if possible, until the edges are golden and crisp, the center jiggles slightly, and the top has browned in spots.

Let the pan rest on a wire rack for 5 minutes before using a small paring knife to unmold the tarts onto wire rack (they'll be intensely hot).

Serve warm, dusting the tarts with powdered sugar and cinnamon, if desired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngcnhQEv5u0

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Cinnamon and Cardamom Morning Buns

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