Kouign-amann

Put into a food-precessor bowl: 8 cups flour, ¼ cup salt, 2 tablespoons yeast, ¹⁄₃ cup butter et 2 ²⁄₃ cups water.

Knead on slow speed until this makes a soft dough (about 5-7 minutes).

Gather the dough into a ball, put this into a bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic. Leave to rest in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

After this, flatten the dough out into a rough rectangle with your hands.

Put it on a baking sheet, cover with a sheet of plastic and put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the square of butter: Wrap 4 cups + 3 tablespoons butter (really cold) in a sheet of plastic film about 40cm x 40cm (16 x 16 inches), folding two sides in to halfway.

Pat with a rolling pin to begin flattening it out.

Fold the other two sides of the plastic inwards to halfway and pat the butter, then roll it until it fills the square you have made.

You should aim to have a flat square of butter 20cm x 20cm (8 x 8 inches), wrapped in plastic.

Put this square back in the fridge to wait.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle the same width as the square of butter and twice as long.

Place the square of butter in the centre of the dough and fold in the ends to cover it completely.

Roll lightly with the rolling pin just to make the surface even.

Give the dough one quarter turn (90°), then roll it out lengthways.

Fold the two ends in towards the centre.

Then fold over in half.

This operation is called giving a double turn (or wallet turn). The drawing at the side shows the 3 stages of folding.

Put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, then give another double turn (making 2 in all), followed by a further 30 minutes in the freezer.

Mix ½ cup vanilla sugar and 2 cups + 3 tablespoons caster sugar.

Roll out the dough lengthways and sprinkle with sugar. Roll lightly to embed this in the dough, then fold the dough as for the second stage of a double turn.

Sprinkle the folded dough with more sugar, then fold as for the third stage of a double turn.

You will now have made a sugared double turn. Return to the freezer for 30 minutes.

Repeat this sugared double turn as often as necessary to use up all the sugar (usually 2 or 3 more).

Finish the final double turn by rolling out the dough to about 1 or 0.5cm (0.4 or 0.2 inch) thick, then cut into two equal pieces.

Take a non-stick mould or tin (or line the bottom of an ordinary tin with a sheet of cooking parchment. Butter the bottom, sprinkle with sugar, then place the first piece of dough in the mould.

Sprinkle generously with sugar, then fold in the corners.

Do the same with the second piece of dough.

You can also make mini Kouign-amann by cutting out circles with a cutter.

Sprinkle these with sugar in the same way.

Leave the Kouign-amann, whether normal or mini, to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).

Bake for around 30 minutes, watching for colouration.

If you are not using a non-stick mould, turn out while still hot to avoid the Kouign-amann sticking on the bottom.