A laminated brioche-style pastry from Brittany, with butter folded into the dough and a caramelized sugar crust. Pistacia Vera's German Village version is Columbus's reference French pastry.

Pistacia Vera was founded in 2004 by siblings Spencer Budros and Anne Fletcher as a North Market stall, relocating to the South Third Street German Village patisserie in 2007. The kouign-amann follows the classic Breton recipe with a caramelized sugar crust on the bottom, a Columbus reference for French pastry standards.

Where to eat Pistacia Vera kouign-amann in Columbus

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Make it at home

Serves 88 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • 300g bread flour
  • 180ml warm water
  • 6g instant yeast
  • 8g sea salt
  • 30g granulated sugar plus 100g more for laminating
  • 250g cold European-style butter
  • Additional butter for the pan

Method

  1. Mix flour, water, yeast, salt and 30g sugar to a soft dough. Knead 5 minutes. Rest covered in the refrigerator 2 hours.
  2. Roll the cold dough to a 25 x 35cm rectangle. Pound the cold butter to a 15 x 20cm rectangle and place in the dough's center. Fold dough over butter to enclose.
  3. Roll out to 25 x 40cm; fold in thirds (letter fold). Refrigerate 45 minutes. Repeat the roll-and-fold twice more, sprinkling with sugar between the second and third folds.
  4. Final roll: 30 x 30cm sheet. Cut into 8 squares. Fold the corners of each square into the center.
  5. Place in buttered, sugared muffin tins or ring molds. Proof 90 minutes at room temperature.
  6. Bake at 200C (400F) for 25 minutes until deep mahogany and the sugar has caramelized. Unmold immediately and cool sugar-side up.

Editor tip. Keep everything cold; the butter must stay between the dough layers without melting. The caramelized sugar crust is non-negotiable, even if it means the pan looks dramatic.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.