I love getting new cookbooks, scurrying home from the store, fresh books in hand, cracking the spine for the very first time, and voraciously reading each recipe, the promise of trying a new dish that will perhaps become an old favorite. Sometimes though it can be a bit anti-climactic, the recipe just, ehh. But there are times when it can be revelatory, and I just had one of those times.

My purchase was rather simple, a copy of Camille le Foll’s compendium entitled, Modern French Classics. But it wasn’t until that evening, when I properly sat down with a cup of tea, and the book poised neatly on my lap, that my stomach began to rumble with anxious hunger. Each recipe looked better than the next, but the dessert section, with assortments of cakes, tartes, clafoutis, and delicate cookies, is what really had me.

For the inaugural recipe I decided on Kouign-Aman, a yeasted sweet bread, one half puff pastry, one half hearty bread. Kissed with sugar, and laden with butter, this homey dessert proved to be just the cake that calls to you in the early morning to be eaten with a smooth cup of cafe au lait.

The dough does contain yeast, giving the “cake” an airy consistency, but have no fear, this is not a delicate dough. It goes through several rises, but you musn’t be hush-hushed around the house while the yeast does it’s magic. This is a delightfully elastic dough, smooth, with bubbles of air throughout. Folding in the butter, and sprinkling the dough with a bit of sugar, then baking the handmade patty on a bit more sugar, which caramelizes during the baking process, the Kouign-Aman did not disappoint.

Kouign-Aman
from Modern French Classics

1 sachet dried yeast
3/4- 1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups ap flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar

Mix the yeast with 3/4 cup water. Put the flour and salt in a bowl, mix, then make a well, add yeast mixture. Mix and then knead for 10 minutes, this can be done in a electric mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add additional water if needed. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

When dough has doubled in size, place on a floured work surface, and punch down to allow dough to breathe. Shape it roughly into an oval, then roll into a rectangle. Spread 5 ounces of butter, mixed with 1/2 cup sugar, stopping 3/4 inches from the edge. Fold down top 1/3 of dough, then fold the bottom 1/3 on top, making 3 layers. Roll out to rectangle once more. Repeat folding, but do not roll out again. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll out again, this time into a circle. Butter a 9 inch, deep pie plate with remain ounce of butter. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, and place dough in plate. Leave to rise for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until carmelized and golden brown. Eat when cool.