What makes a real French croissant?

Croissants are a staple in French pastry. A fresh coffee and a croissant create the perfect breakfast combination. So, how are perfect French croissants made? How did they become so popular in France, and how were they invented in the first place? Legend has it that the croissant wasn’t even invented in France. To answer these questions, we went to Paris, France, and visited a classic boulangerie – a French bakery – to find out.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:55 The dough
01:37 Layers of butter
02:41 The shape
03:38 History of the croissant
04:22 The perfect croissant
05:12 How to eat croissants

CREDITS
Report: Katja Liersch
Camera: Nicolas Grimard
Edit: Benoît Lebec
Supervising editor: Ruben Kalus

#croissants #france #baking

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One serving of clichés de France, s’il vous plait! The Eiffel tower, of course. The baguette is obligatory. And: the croissant, one of the best 
loved pastries in all of France. “Croissant”, of course, means “crescent”, even 
though not all croissants are curved these days. But more on its shape and creation later. For now: how, exactly, do you 
bake the perfect croissant? That’s a question for Adrien Ozaneaux. 
In the Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Orge, people line up for his croissants. In 2021, he was officially named France’s best 
croissant baker in a national competition. His prize-winning croissants are 
made of two different kinds of flour, butter, sugar, yeast, milk with 
a little cream, water and salt. Then, he rolls out the dough and lets it set. Then comes the decisive moment: he works 
a thick layer of butter into the dough. Most French people regard the butter croissant 
rather than the regular one as the true croissant. Adrien wraps a generously thick 
pad of butter into the dough. What makes croissant dough especially flaky
is a process called laminating: the dough is rolled out with the butter
and folded again and again. The chef has to let the dough rest
and rise periodically. Then,  Adrien cuts the dough into the optimal shape. The croissants by this master pastry maker
have to do more than taste good – they have to look good, as well. On a historical note: the croissant did not 
originate in France but in Austria. It’s said to have been created 
around 1683 during the Siege of Vienna by the Ottomans. Vienna’s bakers are 
said to have sounded the alarm while the Ottomans were digging a tunnel under the 
city walls. To commemorate the victory, the bakers invented a pastry in 
the shape of the Ottoman crescent. Then, around 1770, croissants were brought 
to France by Queen Marie-Antoinette. In 1840, August Zang and his business partner opened an Austrian bakery in Paris. 
Alongside other Viennese specialties, its croissants sold like hotcakes – and 
spread their popularity all through France. Without a doubt, good croissants take time.
Almost nine hours. But for Adrien, they’re well worth it. In France, a butter croissant generally goes 
for between one euro and 1.20. It weighs 50 grams and packs 250 calories – 
which may explain why most French people don’t indulge in them every day. And 
they prefer French-made croissants.