The History of the Croissant

Croissants have several interestig origin stories.

The croissant is a pastry associated with France, and whose origins and history aren't clear. The bread has changed over the years; the modern croissant is light and flakey, and served in different ways.

The Legends

Budapest, Hungry was under attack in 1686 by the Turks. A baker heard rumbling noises under the street so he alerted the military, and they found Turks tunneling under the city walls. Afterward, the baker made a pastry in the shape of a Muslim crescent to destroy them symbolically by eating. This story first appeared in 1938. Another popular legend is that it was an Austrian pastry favored by Marie Antoinette, and she had her chefs make it for her. A third theory is the most reasonable. An Austrian baker started a Viennese bakery in France and made the kipfel, an Austrian pastry. French bakers modified the kipfel into the croissant.

First Croissant Recipes

The first mention of croissant in a dictionary was in 1853, and was referred to as a common bread or cake. The first recipe is in Favre's 1905 "Dictionnnaire Universel de Cuisine."

Modern Croissants

In 1906, Colombie's "Nouvelle Encyclopedie Culinair" has the first mention of the croissant we know it today.

References

• Ochef: The True History of the Croissant
• Denver Examiner: The History of the Croissant, or the French Have a Word for it
• The Hungarian Girl: The History of the Croissant