bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Susan Jung

I've never been to Brittany, France, but it's a place I plan to visit. Although the region looks beautiful, I'm attracted more by the food than by anything else. Brittany is known for its seafood, butter (and salted butter caramels), cider, savoury buckwheat flour crepes  (called galettes) and desserts, such as these two. The first recipe, although not difficult, takes a few hours to make; the second is so easy it can be made by   any novice.
 Kouign amann (pictured)  
 Use top quality salted butter for this recipe, which  is based on a yeast-risen, laminated dough, similar to the type used for croissants. 
 For the dough: 
 275 grams bread flour
 5 grams fine sea salt
 5 grams instant yeast
 175ml water (at 35 degrees Celsius - if it's  too hot it will kill the yeast) 10 grams salted butter, melted then cooled  to tepid
 A little cooking oil, for coating a mixing bowl
 220 grams salted butter
 For rolling: 
 Plain (all-purpose) flour
 225 grams granulated sugar
 For the topping:
 20 grams melted salted butter
 25 grams granulated sugar combined with 1 tsp fine sea salt
 Put the bread flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour the water in a steady stream through the feed tube, then add 10 grams of melted butter. Process for about 30 seconds to form a soft, damp, but not sticky, dough. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn  the dough over so the oiled side is on top, then cover with cling-film and leave in a cool spot (about 20 degrees) for 30 minutes. 
Cut the  salted butter into chunks and leave at room temperature until pliable, but not too soft - when you press it with your finger, it  will yield to gentle pressure, but  won't feel  oily. If it's a warm day, this will take about  10 minutes. 
Lightly dust a work surface with plain  flour. Roll out the dough to a 25cm square that's a little thinner at the corners. Flatten  the chunks of butter and spread and shape them into a 15cm square. Place the butter square on the centre of the dough at a 45-degree angle and fold the corners of the  dough up and over the butter to enclose it securely. Press  the dough firmly with the  palm of your hand to flatten it slightly. Roll  out the dough-butter-dough into a 30cm  by 20cm rectangle. Use a pastry brush to dust  off the excess flour from the dough. Fold the top third of the dough towards the centre, brush off the excess flour, then fold the bot- tom third over the top so you have three even layers. Place the dough in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Clean all the flour from the work surface, then liberally sprinkle it with sugar. Place the dough so one short edge is parallel to the  edge of the work surface, then sprinkle more sugar over the dough. Roll it out to a 32cm  by 20cm rectangle, adding more sugar if it sticks. Fold the dough into thirds (don't brush off the sugar), then refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
Repeat the rolling and folding one more time, again using sugar on the work surface and the dough. The dough will be very damp, so you'll need to use more and more sugar to prevent it sticking to the work surface and rolling pin. Fold the dough into thirds, wrap  it and refrigerate  for 30 minutes. 
Sprinkle the work surface with more sugar and roll the dough into a large, even square that's slightly larger than 32cm (by this time, you should have used up all - or almost all - of the 225 grams of sugar). Use a pizza cutter (also called a pizza wheel) to trim off the edges, then cut the large square into 16 8cm squares. Fold the  corners of each square towards the centre so they're slightly overlapping, and press firmly to make them adhere. Nestle each dough square into  6cm  to 7cm muffin tins (or use pastry rings). Place on a baking tray (if using rings, lay a silicon baking mat on the tray first) and let the kouign amann rise until puffy. 
 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Brush  melted butter on the surface of each kouign amann and sprinkle with some of the sugar-salt mixture. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes then turn the heat to 180 degrees and bake until they're medium golden and firm  on the surface but still tender at the centre (about 30 minutes in total). Remove from  the muffin tins or rings while they're still  hot. Serve them warm or cool. If the crust softens, they can be reheated at 180 degrees  for about five minutes. 
 Far Breton 
 Use top quality French prunes for this dense, home-style dessert. 
 60 grams unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the dish
 100 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
 100 grams sugar
 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
 4 large eggs
 400ml milk
 1 earl grey teabag
 50ml whisky, cognac or Armagnac
 300 grams prunes
 Icing sugar, for dusting
 Melt 60 grams of butter and cool to lukewarm. Put the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the eggs, butter and milk. Refrigerate for several hours.
Put the teabag in a bowl, add 250ml of boiling water and steep for a few minutes before removing the teabag. When the tea is warm, stir in the alcohol, then add the prunes and let them soak, stirring occasionally, for an hour, or until soft. Drain the prunes, pat them dry with paper towels, then remove and discard the pits. Butter a 24cm round baking dish that's about 4cm deep and lay the prunes in the dish. Preheat the oven  to 200 degrees.
Strain the custard mixture through a fine sieve then stir it gently. Pour it into the baking dish and bake for an hour, or until it's just set and medium-brown on the surface. Dust with icing sugar before serving warm.
Styling Nellie Ming Lee



Pleasure trip