Happy National Croissant Day!

Today January 30th is National Croissant Day in the United States. So we’re jumping on the bandwagon to celebrate of course cause for us Frenchies, every day is croissant day and we don’t need an excuse to enjoy our buttery staple! Did you know that croissants (just like French fries) were not originally really French?

There are many different stories, but we like this one. The croissant dates back to 1683 during the Battle of Vienna, Austria. To celebrate their victory over the Ottoman Turks at the siege of Vienna the Austrian bakers created the crescent moon shape pastry which represented the symbol on the Ottoman flag and called it “Kipferl” or Crescent. Legend says that the baker was up very early and when he heard the Turks he sounded the alarm. The Kipferl made its way to Paris with Marie-Antoinette by the 19th century and this Austrian Viennoiserie was renamed Croissant and metamorphosed from a heavy bread type pastry into the buttery flaky creation we love so much in France.

You may have noticed that there are two croissants shapes, the first is the long straight shape croissant called the Parisian and the other is shaped like a half- moon. At the beginning, it Is said that the straight one was made with pure butter and the other with margarine and was called croissant ordinaire.