The croissant is a crescent-shaped bread that has become a huge hit in Thailand; you can find croissant shops almost everywhere. It is usually eaten for breakfast with coffee, milk, jam or ham and cheese, and also makes a great snack.
Today there are countless variations and recipes for the croissant, but where did it actually come from? Let us tell you the story.
The Legend of the Croissant: A Pastry Born in Wartime
The croissant is a Western bread that many people assume originated in France, but it actually began in Austria, adapted from a local bread called the kipferl, a buttery, crescent-shaped baked roll. Its origins go back to 1683, when the Turkish army marched on Vienna and laid siege to the city for a long time without managing to break through.
The Turkish army then planned to dig a tunnel into the city. One night, while the enemy was hurriedly digging, an Austrian baker who had risen early to bake while the townspeople slept noticed something was wrong and raised the alarm. In the end the authorities drove the Turkish army back, and the whole city celebrated its victory by making a special bread: the kipferl.
Then, in 1770, the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette married Louis XVI and moved to Paris, France. Homesick, she asked the French palace bakers to make kipferl for her. The bakers adapted it in a new style, creating the bread called the croissant, which means "crescent" in French, named after its shape.
The Croissant in France
There is no clear historical record of the croissant's history in France. Some believe it came from an Austrian soldier named August Zang, who opened a bakery in Paris and sold kipferl. They became famous for their delicious taste and were popular with wealthy French customers, but as a foreign speciality they were expensive.
When Zang later returned home, Parisian bakers began making kipferl-style breads and selling them more cheaply, so ordinary people could buy them. Over time these became the croissant we know today. With recipes adapted and all kinds of ingredients added, its popularity spread around the world, and 30 January each year has even been designated Croissant Day.
From then until now, the croissant has remained a favourite. Many people have studied how to make it and adapted the secrets of its flavour into recipes of their own, going on to sell them, creating extra income and new careers.
