Kouign-amann, French pastry

The kouign-amann (pronounced "queen a-mahn") hails from Brittany, France. Its a cross between a croissant and a flaky cake, with layer after layer of buttery, flaky pastry on the inside, caramelized with ever-so-slightly-burnt sugar on the outside. And yes.. it does remind me of the Buttery Khaari biscuits we get at our local bakery. The one near my place has a version with caramalized sugar on the top, which are my kiddos favorite. And that was partly my motivation for trying this one...

Just a word of caution here.... "Not meant for the health conscious"!!!!

This one is loaded with butter (ya you need it for the pastry to be flaky) and sugar.

Ingredients:

1 cup         Maida
1/2 small
packet       Amul Butter
1 cup        Sugar
2 tsp         Yeast
Water for binding

Method:

Proof the yeast but adding the yeast to 2 tbsp of warm water to which 1/2 tsp of sugar is added. Let it stand for 10 mins till frothy.

Make a dough of the maida and yeast, adding a little water if required. Knead and keep aside covered in cling wrap for an hour to rise.

Now roll the dough into a rectangle. Spread the butter cubes on it. Sprinkle about 3 tsp of sugar on it. Leave some space towards the edges. Fold the dough towards the center from the top and the bottom.

Roll into a rectangle again. Sprinkle 3 tsp of sugar again and fold from top and bottom towards the center. The will become sticky here but just dust some maida and you will be sorted..

Wrap the dough in a cling wrap and keep it in the fridge for 20 mins.

Remove the dough and roll it again into rectangle, repeat the process of sprinkling sugar and folding.

Now cut the dough lenghtwise into long slices and roll them.

Place the rolls into individual  muffin tins and rest them for 20 mins.

Bake them at 180 degrees till they become golden brown.
When You see the tops caramalizing, remove and cool.