History of Croissant

Joi Abenir
GR. 11 TVL HEHistory
2 of Croissant
 Bakers Maison has an undying love for all things
baked. As an authentic French Bake House, one pastry
however is the ultimate indulgence. Hand-made with pure
butter and a feast for the eyes, the croissant is a momentous
part of French history. But what is the history of the
croissant?

A brief history of the crisp, crescent comestible we all know and love is a tale full of
culinary legends. People often think of France when they hear mention of the croissant, but
Austria is the true country of birth for this famous pastry. Its Viennese, not French!

The ‘kipferl’ was believed to be the spiritual ancestor of the croissant. Austrian based,
the kipferl is a crescent-shaped morning sweet made plain, with nuts or other fillings. It is a
denser and less flaky bread, made with a softer dough. The history of the kipferl dates back to
the 13th century where it is referenced as a “sweet” and wasn’t until the mid-16th century that the
Austrian treat became part of the ‘morning pastry’ category.

The turn of the 17th century saw the first recipe for
the style of dough that would be popularised by croissants
was documented. Appearing in “Le Pâtissier françois” by
François Pierre de La Varenne, was the recipe for “Pâte
feuilletée”, more commonly known as ‘puff pastry’.
Later that century, Vienna and Buda gave birth to two more
tales of the origin of the croissant. One such legend states that it was created in Buda to
celebrate the defeat of the Ummayyad forces by the Franks in the Battle of Tours, with the shape
representing the Islamic crescent moon.

Another origin story comes from Vienna, where the

delicious, flaky pastry was created to celebrate the defeat of
the Ottomans by Christian forces in 1683. The croissant was
created as a reference to the Ottoman flags, an honour to the
bakers who prevented the Turks’ tunnelling underneath their
city by giving alarm to Christian authorities.

A more romantic tale from the 18th century, tells a story of the croissant often attributed
to Marie Antoinette. The Archduchess of Austria was known not to eat at royal dinners, only to
sneak away and eat and drink the sweets and coffee of her country. Her love of kipferls and
christening of the kipferl as the “croissant” is rumoured to have brought it in to fashion in the high
society France of the time. As pastry was reserved only for high society and royalty the credibility
of this story could carry some weight.
 Yet, the first verified historical evidence of the croissant
has been attributed to August Zang and his upscale pastry shop,
Boulangerie Viennoise in the early 19th century. The bakery-like
shop specialised in treats from his native Vienna, most notably
the kipferl. His kipferl was made with flakier dough than traditional
sweets, and people began to refer to it as a croissant because of
its crescent shape.
A French Baker name Sylvain Claudius Goy wrote a
recipe in 1915, that would cement the technique that remains at
the heart of baking the modern croissant. His use of yeast differentiated his rolls from traditional
puff pastry’s and gave birth to the croissant of present day.

In the first half of the 20th century, the croissant was baked and beloved by adoring
French bakers and all who enjoyed it. After World War 2, the rise of mass-produced food only
boosted the pastry’s popularity in France, Europe and the world over. By the end of the 20th
century, the croissant took the foodservice industry by storm thanks to the introduction of flash
freeze technologies, with take away ‘croissanteries’ and fast-food chains now able to sell
croissant breakfast sandwiches and savoury pastries.

Today, the reach of the croissant goes far and wide

with France, Austria, Argentina, Italy, Poland, America,
Australia and many other countries having notable and
delicious variants.

The history of the croissant is a story of the ages,

with different countries, battles and royal figures defining
what this delectable pastry is today! The croissant isn’t just a part of history, it is history.

The long and chequered past of this flaky treat has seen a number of variations on the
original recipe. Bakers Maison have maintained our French heritage with 12 layers of buttery
goodness, hand-rolled, flash frozen and ready to be freshly baked on your premise. A delicious
addition to any menu whether they are served as a standalone snack or filled with gourmet
ingredients.

INGREDIENTS
 whole milk, heated to warm (105°F–110°F)
 packed light brown sugar
  tablespoon plus teaspoon active dry yeast
 unbleached all-purpose flour
 tablespoon kosher salt
 sticks cold unsalted butter
 kitchen towels (not terry cloth)
 ruler
 pastry brush

Special Equipment

 a standing electric mixer with dough hook, 2 kitchen towels (not terry cloth), a
ruler, a pastry brush

PREPARATION
Make dough:

Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer and let stand until
foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and
salt and mix with dough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7
minutes.

Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, adding more flour as
necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a roughly
1 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.

Prepare and shape butter:

After dough has chilled, arrange sticks of butter horizontally, their sides touching, on a work
surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still
cold). Scrape butter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with other towel.
Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 8- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill,
wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.

Roll out dough:

Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and
lifting and stretching dough (especially in corners), into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Arrange
dough with a short side nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides of butter
are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would a letter: bottom third of dough over
butter, then top third down over dough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.

Roll out dough:

Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down
horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals, making uniform impressions.
Roll out dough into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.

Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above, stretching corners to square
off dough, forming a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. (You have completed the first "fold.") Chill,
wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Make remaining "folds":

Make 3 more folds in same manner, chilling dough 1 hour after each fold, for a total of 4
folds. (If any butter oozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Wrap
dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no more than 18 (after 18 hours,
dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).

PRESENTATION (PLATING)
PACKAGING