June 24 / 3pm - 6pm Day 1    King Arthur Baking Company, Skagit Valley, WA

June 25  / 9am - 4pm Day 2

Dial in your lamination skills as you explore a trendy and versatile pastry. Caramel coated, salted laminated pastry-- Kouign Amann hits all of the best components. This very old product is enjoying new life as bakers play with endless variations on a theme. Kouign Amann has become the star of the pastry case, lending itself to seasonal variations and specialties. This pastry is an optimal way to build your lamination skills as you explore different techniques and ingredient functions while making these sweet specialties.  And your lamination skills will be reinforced through repetition and working with different laminated doughs. 

By the end of this class, students will: 

• Strengthen their lamination skills

• Understand the impact of flour selection on the final product 

• Compare outcomes using different temperature fats in laminated products

• Compare outcomes using different types of flour in laminated products

• Produce a wide range of sizes and styles of kouign Amman, including large and individual products, filled and simply sugar coated 

• Explore suitable fillings, shaping variations and garnishing options  

 To achieve this, students will  be making four overarching products:  

 Hand and production laminations will be explored.   

Growing up in Pennsylvania German (AKA: PA Dutch) country, Cat Schaeffer was steeped in a culture rich with sweets, sours, pies, and loaves. This upbringing led her down a unique path to her baking career and what began as volunteer work in a historical demonstration kitchen became a whirlwind of woodfire and soon, viennoiserie. She has since worked for several bakeries, laminating her way from the East Coast to the West with a specialty in sugar-drenched pastries. Cat is currently a full-time instructor at King Arthur Baking Company’s Baking School in Burlington, Washington. At the west coast school, Cat is able to share her love of all things butter-and-dough, helping to guide new and old bakers alike on the road to tasty bakes.