History of Croissant
The origin of the croissant is one of the great food legends of all time.
Many people have heard that the croissant was created in 1686 in Budapest, Hungary by a courageous and watchful baker, at a time when the city was being attacked by the Turks. Working late one night, he heard odd rumbling noises and alerted the city’s military leaders. They found that the Turks were trying to get into the city by tunnelling under the city’s walls. The tunnel was destroyed and the baker was a hero, but a humble hero — all he wanted in reward was the sole right to bake a special pastry commemorating the fight. The pastry was shaped like a crescent, the symbol of Islam, and presumably meant that the Hungarians had eaten the Turks for lunch.
The problem with this story is that it’s all made up.
The story first showed up in the first version of the great French food reference Larousse Gastronmique, in 1938. Later on, the story switched locations to Vienna, during the Turkish siege there in 1863, but that was also a fabrication
The truth about croissant
The sad thing is, the truth of croissant in this case is not nearly as interesting as the myth. No one knows when or where the first croissant was baked, but it was definitely in France and certainly not before 1850.
The word was first used in the great Littre dictionary (1863). The first croissant recipe was published in 1891, but it wasn’t the same kind of croissant we are familiar with today, described as an oriental pastry made of pounded almonds and sugar. The first recipe that would produce what we consider to be a croissant wasn’t published until 1905 in, Colombie’s Nouvelle Encyclopedie Culinaire, and again, it was in France.
The development croissant into a national symbol of France, is a 20th-century history
Croissant, Definitions
Croissant is French for crescent or crescent-shaped. Croissants are composed of a light buttery rich yeast dough that can have either a sweet (jam, marzipan, chocolate) or savoury (cheese, ham, chicken, mushrooms) filling. Traditionally enjoyed in France for breakfast with coffee and milk.
Croissants that are made with butter are called “croissant au beurre” and any croissant containing other types of fat (usually margarine) must be called “croissants
Pain au Chocolat
Although the phrase translates literally as ‘bread with chocolate’, it is fundamentally a croissant variation and is commonly sold alongside croissants in French bakeries and supermarkets. Like croissants, they are also typically eaten for breakfast, despite the chocolate content.
See the Wickipedia page for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croissant
La parisienne have Specialised in Croissant production for over 25 years now, producing a premium quality butter product. We sell and deliver on all stages of croissant process from the pastry roll, blank triangle and the raw un-baked items to bakeries and those who are a little game to bake there own product. The we offer the fully finished croissant in a variety of shapes and sizes.