Want a bite?

I will share my buttery, plain croissant with you on National Croissant Day.

But, don’t go all French on it because the original kipferls was a Viennese crescent-shaped baked good believed to have been created by a baker in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Ottomans by Christian forces. The crescent shape is suppose to mimic the crescent moon of the Ottoman flags. And a nod to the bakers who in their early rise, heard the Turks tunnelling underneath Vienna and gave alarm to the authorities who prevented the invasion.

When and how did the kipferl become French?

As recently as the 19th century, the French viewed the croissant as a foreign pastry sold in Viennese bakeries. There had been no mention of the croissant before 1850.

One tale dates to the 18th century, tells of how Marie Antoinette, the Archduchess of Austria, who was known not to eat at royal dinners but would sneak away and eat the sweets from her country. She loved kipferls and she christened them croissant – and rumoured to have brought it to fashion in the high society France. This is just a tale.

It is more believable that an Austrian entrepreneur, August Zang who opened the first Viennese bakery on the Right Bank, Paris in 1838 introduced the kipferls in his shop.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the French replaced the dough with a puff pastry and changed its taste … and thus had its own French twist of the original kipferls.

So come to think of it, the croissant as we know it today has Austrian, Turkish and French influence.

Which is your favourite? I like mine plain and buttery. Yum!

I can’t have the pain au chocolate and Mum wants the almond ones all to herself!

May’s comment: The Austrian origin explains why “viennoiseries” (Viennese pastries) is used to refer to all croissants, pain au chocolate, brioches, etc.

And I would have had a matcha one if Matcha & Beyond was still open. How yummy is this?

Dying to have some but need to find them gluten-free!