Croissant
Croissant (from French croissant ( de lune ) = waxing Moon, décroissant = decreasing ) in Switzerland also peaks (i ), partly in southern Germany croissant ) is a French pastry made of puff pastry. Croissants are popular breakfast pastries. The Austrian crescent rolls or croissants were originally a pastry made from yeast dough into croissant shape and were still referred to 1894 in a gastronomic lexicon as brioche. You are not equated by cultural historians with croissants.
Croissants are baked with cheese or stuffed with ham available in many bakeries. In addition, for example, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the chocolate croissant with chocolate or nougat filling is being sold. Just as the brioches and the croissant is one of the classic ingredients of a French breakfast, but today it is also popular in other countries.
Production
In a dough containing fat and sugar, fat is incorporated. For this purpose the dough is rolled out to a square occupied by a separately rolled, cold piece of fat, which is covered in the manner of an envelope with the edges of the dough. Then the dough is rolled out to a rectangle of a triple length and folded back from both ends to form a square. These so-called tours are repeated three times until finally, can be molded and baked croissant cut Teigdreiecken.
In France, the croissant with margarine, the croissant au beurre with butter made . Butter croissants are produced according to food regulations ( Principles ) in Germany exclusively with butter - this applies to both the dough and for the drawing grease.
In southern Germany and Switzerland is a popular variant of the Laugencroissant, or lye croissant or Silsergipfeli ( after the village of Sils im Engadin ) called.
Origin
Cultural historians have conclusively demonstrated that different legends about the origin of the pastry (see below) are fictitious and the croissants were not introduced before the 19th century in France. However croissant was first mentioned in a reference book under that name in 1853 as a not further described pastry, 1863, the moon shape is mentioned in an encyclopedia. The first recipe for this even was not published until 1906 in the Nouvelle Encyclopedie Culinaire. " The history of croissants and its development into a national symbol of France is a history of the 20th century. "
The legends were circulated among other things, by Alfred Gottschalk in the first edition of the Larousse Gastronomique 1938 and in a further own book in 1948, where he once again Vienna and Budapest stated as alleged origin.
Regarding the allegation that the Austrian Crescents were the model of croissants, there is no historical evidence. For the time of Louis XVI. there is no mention crescent-shaped pastries in printed French literature. For the Austrian croissant it was before 1900, according to Habs / Rosner, however, almost the same legend, which is also published to the croissants: " When the (...) weighty role played by the crescents in Vienna's life, one has already long ago by an inventor been looking for the same and wrote that honor the praiseworthy master Peter Wendler to who had brought the shape of the pastry in 1683 a reproach to the Turkish crescent moon shot. "
Legends
About the invention of the croissant circulating different stories. According to legend, the croissant to have been invented after the siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683. The Turks wanted supposedly a tunnel under the city walls to dig what the Viennese bakers who were already awake, but mitbekamen and alarm struck. At the victory celebration a pastry was invented, which had the shape of the Turkish Crescent. Another version can take place the same story in Budapest in 1686, when that city was besieged by the Turks. In all flags (Maldives, Pakistan, Turkey, Singapore, etc.), however, is shown the decreasing ( décroissant ) moon.
In France, another legend, the wife of Louis XVI croissants were made popular by Marie Antoinette. and daughter of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. The Austrian croissant was renamed accordingly in France after the crescent shape of the waxing moon ( croissant de lune ).
The origin of the croissant is often brought into Austria with the crescents in association representing the local history as a Viennese invention. In fact, it is probably a traditional convent pastries, which was probably baked for Easter - the first bakeries were in monasteries and the shape mimics goat horns, hence the name " Squirrel ". Proven such a shaped pastry was baked from 1000 AD.