Kouign amann

This is a method for enclosing an obscene amount of butter in bread dough and then caramelising it. And yes, that is my idea of heaven.

It's also adding to my growing list of wonderful things made of a simple combination of dough+butter+sugar. Why is it that simple things are so often the best? I've even reduced the sugar in this a little, which is unheard of for me, as it lets the buttery perfume and soft yeasty dough really stand out.

The name kouign amann means butter cake in Breton, where this pastry originates from, but strangely it's also incredibly similar to butteries or rowies which are a local tradition in Aberdeen, and also the (not particularly) famous Butterbuns of Southwold that I have been obsessed with recreating ever since I went on holiday there as a teenager.

Kouign amann is normally baked as one large cake, but I've seen them in patisseries in France as pretty little individual sized swirls like these, so I thought I would try to make something similar using muffin tins. I think I like these even better than the original version (although it's really very hard to choose) as they have a better ratio of crispy-caramelisedness to doughy-softness. But if you don't have a muffin tin don't let that put you off, it will still be up there with the most delicious things you have ever made whichever way you bake it.

Things I have learnt from making kouing amann:

Salted butter is a must. If you can get Brittany butter with sea salt flakes that would be even better, if not you can always sprinkle a few flakes over the rolled out butter to get the same effect.

I found a really handy tip on Gesine Bullock-Prado's website for rolling out the butter in a folded over piece of parchment, although I didn't go as far as sellotaping it up, I expect that's only necessary if you are making a really large batch. The final size of the rectangle should be about 3x5 inches for this amount of dough.

This gets incredibly sticky and will ooze sugary syrup as it rests in the fridge, making it quite difficult to work with. Roll it out quickly and not too thinly each time to help prevent it breaking up.

If making this in a cake/tart tin make sure it isn't the loose bottomed kind as the caramel will leak all over your oven.

The dough used here is just a basic white bread dough, which is how I justified making this now rather than when I'm doing enriched bread dough later in the year. Although there is an awful lot of butter involved, it's not actually in the dough (and there's no milk, sugar or eggs in the dough either), plus I haven't made it for a few months now and was starting to get kouign amann cravings!

Kouign amann: makes 12 muffin sized or one 7inch cake tin size

(I've adapted this recipe from a combination of the ideas in Gesine Bullock-Prado's recipe and David Lebovitz's recipe)

200g strong white flour

4g instant yeast

3g salt

120g water

125g salted butter, softened

50g salted butter, melted

125g caster sugar

• Mix the flour, salt and yeast with the water
• Knead for about 10 minutes or until it forms a smooth shiny ball of dough
• Place the dough in the mixing bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight
• Remove the dough from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to use it
• Place the softened butter on a large piece of baking parchment. Fold the parchment in half and flatten the butter a little, then fold over the three open sides to create a closed packet about 3x5 inches
• Turn the parchment packet over and gently roll out the butter to create a thin even layer

• Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured worksurface and roll out to a square about 6 inches across
• Place the rectangle of butter over one side of the square, then fold over the other side to enclose the butter and press down the edges to seal

• Sprinkle over ¼ of the sugar and roll the dough out to a larger rectangle

• Create a letter fold (as for puff pastry) by folding it into thirds

• Roll and fold again, this time in the other direction

• Put the dough onto a plate and cover with cling film. Chill for 30 minutes

• Roll out the dough again and sprinkle with another ¼ of the sugar
• Repeat the same folding process as above, and chill for a further 30 minutes
• Butter a 12 hole muffin tin or 7inch cake tin
• Roll out the dough to a large rectangle and sprinkle with another ¼ of the sugar
• If making the muffin tin version, roll up to form a log shape, and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the outsides, pressing it in to make sure it sticks. Slice the log into 12 even rounds and place each one into a muffin tin hole

• If making the large kouign amann, skip the last step and fold the dough once more, before rolling out to fit the size of your tin
• For both methods, leave the kouign amann to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 200°C
• Drizzle the melted butter over and sprinkle with a little extra sugar if desired
• Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until golden and caramelised
• Once baked, leave in the tin for 5 minutes so you don't get burnt on the hot caramel, and then serve straight away

These need to be eaten the day they are made, but can be re-warmed in a medium oven if they are not going to be eaten immediately.