National Croissant Day

National Croissant Day

What is crescent shaped, made from layer upon layer of flakey pastry, loads of butter and tastes like heaven?  You got it… it’s a croissant, and the croissant has its own national celebration day in France called National Croissant Day.

Marie Antoinette brings the Croissant to France

This iconic french pastry is celebrated on the 30th of January each year and is linked with Marie Antoinette the famous Austrian queen who lived at Versailles. Marie Antoinette is given the fame of introducing the pastry to France over 200 years ago.

“She was sent to France at the age of fourteen to marry the future King Louis XVI. The lonely young girl missed her homeland and asked the court bakers to make her the kipferl that she remembered from home. She introduced it to the court along with other little pastries from her homeland. Collectively, they became known as viennoiserie.” History of the French Croissant by Margo Lestz

Should A Croissant Be Curved or Straight?

You may see the croissant in either a curved shape or straight shape and think that they are the same.  However, the shape of the croissant makes quite a difference.  The curved croissant is made with margarine and is called a croissant ordinaire and the straight one is made with butter.  As the buttery croissants are preferred in France, they are more common in bakeries and supermarkets.

Croissant Recipe

For those of you who would like to make some croissants, and want to do so with the minimum of fuss, you might like to try the recipe below.