THE STORY OF A BELOVED DESSERT: The Croissant

The origin of many desserts is often shrouded in mystery, their histories lost in the centuries and traditions passed down through generations, sometimes becoming legends. 

The croissant, a classic breakfast treat adored by both Italians and French, is no exception. According to legend, it was invented in Vienna following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1683.

The Turkish army, in an attempt to breach the city's walls, had devised a plan to plant dynamite in the underground tunnels. It was the bakers, already awake and working during the night hours, who noticed the unusual movements of the Turks and raised the alarm. The emperor then defeated the Ottoman army and later commissioned the same bakers to create a pastry to commemorate the event, the "kipferl" (crescent-shaped roll), which is said to represent the crescent moon, a symbol of the Ottoman flag.

The "croissant," as we know it today, is said to be a descendant of the "kipferl," but of French origin. Its creation is often dated to 1770, when it was made for the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in Versailles. The French court bakers altered the recipe by adding more butter and renamed it "croissant," which derives from the French word "crescent," meaning crescent moon.

A more widely accepted version attributes the invention of the croissant to Austrian officer August Zang, who founded the Viennese bakery "Boulangerie Viennoise" in Paris in 1839, introducing the pastry to the French.