Kouign-amann | Dessert Person

DISSOLVE THE YEAST: Combine 1/4 cup warm tap water in a medium bowl and whisk in the yeast to dissolve. Set aside until the mixture is cloudy and slightly puffed, about 5 minutes.

MAKE THE DOUGH: Add 3/4 cup (6 oz / 57g) warm water to the bowl, then add the flour, melted and cooled unsalted butter, 1/4 cup (50g) sugar, and salt. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until you have a shaggy dough. Knead the dough by hand in the bowl several times to bring it together, then turn it out onto a clean work surface and continue to knead by hand, adding a sprinkle of flour only if the dough is sticking to your hands and/or the surface, until you have a very smooth, supple, and soft dough, 10 to 12 minutes.

PROOF THE DOUGH: Gather the dough into a ball and dust lightly with flour. Place it inside the same bowl and take a photo so you can gauge how the dough rises over time. Cover it with a damp kitchen towel and let it sit in a warm spot until the ball has nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1¼ hours.

MAKE THE BUTTER BLOCK: While the dough is rising, place the pieces of chilled, salted butter in a mound on a sheet of parchment paper, then fold the sides of the parchment up and over the butter. Use a rolling pin to beat the butter firmly but gently, flattening it into a single layer about 1/2-inch thick (beating the cold butter makes it pliable without making it soft and sticky). Unfold the parchment paper and use a small offset or regular spatula to spread the butter into a 7-inch square, squaring off the corners and straightening the edges, too. Fold the parchment around the butter again to completely enclose it (like you’re wrapping a gift), eliminating any air pockets, and creating a neat square packet. Turn the packet over so the folds of the parchment are facing down and roll across the butter block in both directions with your rolling pin to flatten and even out the thickness to about 1/4 inch. Refrigerate the butter while the dough is rising.

PUNCH DOWN AND CHILL THE DOUGH: When the dough has nearly doubled, use a fist to lightly punch it down to expel some of the gases produced during the first rise. Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and flatten with the heel of your hand, also tugging on it to create a square shape (the dimension isn't important). Cover it with plastic wrap and freeze until the dough is very firm but not frozen, about 10 minutes.

ENCLOSE THE BUTTER BLOCK: Remove the dough from the freezer and the butter block from the refrigerator. unwrap, and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out, stretching it with your hands if needed, until you have about an 8-inch square. The dimensions aren't important as long as the thickness is even and the dough is slightly larger than the butter block all the way around.

Unwrap the butter just so the top is exposed, and, using the sides of the parchment paper, turn the block over and place it on top of the dough, positioning it so it looks like a diamond set onto the dough square, with the points of the butter aligning with the midpoints of the sides of the dough. Peel off the parchment paper and discard.

Fold each of the four corners of the dough inward one at a time toward the center of the butter block. They should easily meet and overlap slightly in the center and along the sides. Pinch the dough together firmly along all the seams so they seal.

DO THE FIRST TWO "TURNS:" Dust more flour underneath and on top of the dough, which should now completely encase the butter block.

Use the rolling pin to lightly beat the dough to flatten and lengthen slightly, then roll out the dough, working it both toward and away from you, to elongate it into a rectangle that’s about three times longer than it is wide and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, somewhere around 20 inches long and 7 inches wide. (The exact dimensions aren’t important). Do your best to keep the edges squared-off and dust with more flour if needed.

With the short side facing you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter, first lifting up the bottom third, and pressing it into the center, then folding down the top third. This rolling and folding process is called a "turn." It creates the layers of butter and dough that make a flaking pastry.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise, dust with a bit more flour, if needed, and repeat the rolling out and folding process. This is your second turn.

CHILL THE DOUGH: Wrap the dough in the reserved piece of parchment paper. Freeze for 10 minutes to rapidly cool it down, then refrigerate and chill for 1 hour.

DO THE FINAL TWO "TURNS" WITH SUGAR: Orient the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface so the flap is facing up and the edge of the flap is on the right (if you were to unfold the dough, you would open it to your left like a book).

Roll out the dough again into a long rectangle just as you did before, dusting underneath with more flour if needed. Lightly sprinkle several tablespoons of sugar from the remaining 1 cup sugar across the surface of the dough and fold in thirds again, then rotate 90 degrees.

Remove any excess sugar from the work surface, dust underneath the dough with more flour, and roll out again. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with more sugar and fold into thirds one final time.

CHILL THE DOUGH: Wrap in parchment again and freeze for 10 minutes to rapidly cool, then transfer it to the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour.

PREPARE THE PAN: Brush 24 cups of two standard muffin tins with a generous layer of cooled, melted unsalted butter. Cut 24 strips of parchment paper, each measuring about 5 inches long and 1/4 inch wide, and layer a strip flush across the bottom and up the side of each muffin cup. Brush the parchment strips with more butter, sprinkle a generous pinch of sugar inside each muffin cup, then set the pans aside.

ROLL OUT AND CUT THE DOUGH: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Roll out on a very lightly floured surface into a large rectangle measuring slightly larger than 18 x 12 inches. This will take some elbow grease, but try to work as quickly as you can to prevent the butter from softening and making the dough sticky. Once the dough is rolled out, use a pastry brush to dust off any excess flour. Use a wheel cutter or large chef's knife to trim the dough on all four sides to square it off. Sprinkle the remaining sugar underneath and on top of the tough, pressing gently on the surface of the dough to encourage the sugar to stick.

FILL THE PAN AND PROOF: Working with one square at a time, fold all four corners toward the center of the square so they meet, then press gently so the corners stay in place.

Place the fold-up square inside a muffin cup and repeat until you've folded all the squares and filled the pan. Cover the pan loosely with a damp towel and let sit at room temperature until the dough is puffed and the layers of the dough and butter have visibly separated, 35 to 45 minutes. (Alternatively, the covered pan can be refrigerated up to 12 hours. Do not let it rise at room temperature before baking, as the rise will happen slowly in the refrigerator. Transfer directly to the preheated oven.)

PREHEAT THE OVEN: Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 400°F.

BAKE AND COOL: Uncover the pan and transfer to the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake until the kouign-amann is deep golden brown and caramel is bubbling around the sides, 25 to 30 minutes. Switch and rotate the pans front to back after 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Tug on the ends of the parchment to dislodge the kouign-amann from the pan and turn out. Transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely.