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Kouign-amann (; ; kouignoù-amann) is a sweet, round Bretons laminated dough pastry, originally made with bread dough, but is also made with laminated viennoiserie dough, containing layers of butter and incorporated sugar, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. It is slowly baked until the sugar caramelization and steam from the water in the butter expands the dough, resulting in its layered structure. A smaller version, kouignette, is similar to a muffin-shaped, caramelized croissant.
A specialty of the town of Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany where it originated around 1860, the pastry is attributed to Yves-René Scordia (1828–1878). The name comes from the Breton language words for 'cake' ( ) and 'butter' (), and in 2011 the New York Times described it as "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe."
In 2014 episode 7 of series 5 of the BBC's The Great British Bake Off featured kouign-amann. In 2015, notable bakeries in New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco began to sell the pastry. In Denver, several bakeries offer varieties; some shorten the name to "queen". The making of kouign-amann also featured in Michael Portillo's Great Continental Rail Journeys on BBC TV (series 8, episode 17, 31 March 2025).
As of 2024, kouign-amann had also gained popularity in countries worldwide such as Indonesia thanks to coffeeshop chains that operated in the country such as Maison Kayser and Starbucks.
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