Kouign Amann Day

Kouign Amann Day

Celebrate Kouign Amann Day on June 20th and enjoy this puff pastry style cake with layers of butter and sugar for a delicious flaky pastry. 

What is Kouign Amann?

Kouign Amann is a Breton pastry that originates from the city of Douarnenez, in the Brittany region of France. The name comes from the Breton words for butter “Amann” and cake “Kouign”. 

Pronounced "queen a-mahn", this pastry is made from dough that is similar to brioche, but also contains sugar and butter. The dough is rolled out and then folded several times, before being formed into a round shape and baked.

What is the difference between croissant and kouign-amann?

Kouign amann is very similar to a croissant which is why many people ask this question. Both are flaky layered pastries. The croissant dough is enriched with milk and butter while the original kouign amann was made with a simple mixture of yeast, flour, salt and water with no fat or sweetener added. Today, there are many varieties of kouign-amann, most of which include sugar either in the dough or added with butter to the top of the pastry to form a carmelized topping. 

History of Kouign Amann Day

The origin of the Kouign Amann Day can be traced back to 2015 when the San Francisco bakery b.patisserie invented the day. The day caught on and is now celebrated across the globe to bring awareness to this delightful pastry. 

How to celebrate Kouign Amann Day

The best way to celebrate any food holiday is with friends and family and to buy or bake Kouign Amann as a way to appreciate and enjoy this delicious sweet bread. 

Make a Kouign Amann pastry

Those dramatic flakey layers are the result of sealing a layer of butter into the pastry dough, and then folding, rolling, re-folding, and re-rolling until that one layer becomes hundreds of super thin layers of butter and pastry. This sounds complicated, but it’s really just a matter of patience.

Making your own kouign-amann is not complicated but it does take patience and time. In order to get the flakey layers, the butter must be properly folded into the dough. It requires properly chilled butter and continued folding, rolling, re-folding, re-rolling of the butter and pastry. If you take the time to do it right, you will get a flakey pastry resulting in lots of happy consumers. 

Buy a Kouign Amann

No time to make your own? Stop by a bakery and pick one up to share. One of the best things about food holidays is taking the time to try something new and bring it home or to the office to share with others. 

Share your Celebration

Don't forget to share your made or purchased kouign amann with the world on your social media with #NationalKouignAmann. Share your whole office or family enjoying this delicious pastry!