Clair de Lune
From my Rotterdam home I had just finished up my internship for the day. 5 o clock, time for a walk. It was already dark outside, and cold. I put on my headphones and walk outside. . Immediately I am greeted by a beam of pale light, the moon. I walk alongside the waters of the river that pierces the city of Rotterdam. The glistering of the moonlight shattering the waters. An appropriate time to listen to Debussy's Clair de Lune.
Half Moon Pastry
A walk is a great way to come at ease and compile your thoughts. Essentially growing today's thoughts and building for a better tomorrow. It coincides with the philosophy of Debussy, "
“Collect impressions. Do not be in a hurry to write them down ..."
"Advice to Student" Claude Debussy.
The french word for growth is "croitre". This can be written in a different root as "la croissance". Which might remind you of the word "croissant". Croissant means crescent like "croissant de lune", the crescent of the moon.
Moon descends, sun rises
As the moon descends and the sun rises, I walk past my local bakery to get myself a piece of the sun. A bright yellow and buttery crescent. Slightly crusty with a heartening smell that encourages, like the sun, a promising start of a new day. The croissant is a breakfast food that is consumed throughout the whole world and is an essential component of an continental breakfast.
Love and .... butter
The pastry is one of the icons of French culture. The French boulangeries pride themselves in their croissant craftsmanship. If the devil would be in the details, the god is in the butter. In the words of the Parisian Baker, Arnold Delmontel
"The Secret? Love and .... butter"
To form layer on layer of a beautiful honeycomb (read our edit on honey). That can either be crispy or more of a brioche. Dependent on the expression of the baker.
A croissant is like a difficult lover. When it rains, the dough acts different and the ingredients need to be adjusted. As all bakers know, both amateur and professionals, the difference in air humidity has a tremendous impact on the outcome of the dough. The harmony of different products of the environment tie together resulting in a taste that I can only express as a feeling of homecoming.
But how French is it?
The Truth.
The truth is, the French may have claimed it as theirs but it's not truly theirs. As with all of history the stories are scattered. But it all starts in the Austrian Empire.
The grandfather of the croissant was the Kipferl. A little more firm and doughy than a croissant, the Kipferl is still eaten in Vienna. Often paired with jam or honey and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Although it can be filled with almonds and vanilla which is often done for Christmas, named Vanillekipferl.
As with Pasta Carbonara, the history of the Kipferl and Croissant goes up and down and left to right. One of the most romantic stories of the Kipferl will per usual, a story about war.
Digging deep.
As one of the legends go.
During the second siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire. The Turks tried to capture the city through digging a tunnel network. A busy baker, named Peter Wendler, who was up early in the morning heard the rumbling under his baker. The baker already had his own Kipferl so it wasn't his stomach. He alerted the military and they could halt the assault. The baker was celebrated for his alertness. He didn't want any reward, just the honour of baking a kipferl. Where the crescent shape came from the flag carried by the Ottomans. A true symbol of victory
Another legend of the same Peter Wendler goes as follows during the siege of the city of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, he would have created a crescent-shaped pastry to mock the Turkish crescent. However, this legend contradicts the fact that Peter Wendler died on December 6, 1680.
What's real
It is hard for historian to prove such a romantic story. One of the ways to dig deeper into the history of something is to look at the etymology of the word. In Old High German Kipfa means ''carriage stanchion'', referring to horns of a cart. The imitation of horns had to do with the fact that is was a pagan bread consumed around the time of Easter. Horns often referred to religious or spiritual symbolisms as ''supreme'' beings often had horns.
Dressed like a banana.
As early as 1227, Viennese bakers presented the Babenberg Duke Leopold the Glorious with a “Chipfen” costume when he entered Vienna for Christmas. Chipfen were the name of Kipferl at that time in Vienna. The Viennese poet Johann Ennenkel stated.
“Thu brought the pecker chips and white spots whiter then a hermelein”
But how..?
The kipferl possibly even predates 1000 AD, since the crescent form is an ode to religion which of course exists since the tale of time. Talking about time, how come that the croissant is seen as a symbol for French culture as it is not even French? It is all thanks to this man: Mr. August Zang
Parisian Silicon Valley
Zang was an entrepreneur that would make the current tech disruptors blush. He was born to a prominent surgeon in Vienna and started his career as Military Officer. Which bore him quite quickly as he was more interested in patisserie and his hungering entrepreneurial spirit. Allegedly Zang went to Paris because after one of the visits of the Royal Family in Vienna he caught word of the French princess saying:
"The Viennese Pastries will be a success in Paris."
Zang resigned and brought bakers from Vienna to Paris to set up shop.
However this is all undocumented, the exact reason why he went to Paris to introduce the Viennese Pastries is unclear.
Zang & Schwarzer
Zang and his partner Ernst Schwarzer opened their upscale bakery "Zang & Schwarzer's pain viennois" in 1837. Not having any prior baking experience Zang returned countless of times to Vienna to learn the techniques and master the craft. They were located on the 92. rue de Richelieu in the heart of the first and second arrondissement in Paris. A year later his partner, Schwarzer left and Zang changed the name to "Boulangerie Viennoise". The hotel next to the bakery was owned by the noble "Richelieu" family.
The Secret
The boulangerie was a enormous success and the Parisians loved every bit of the Viennese delights. Zang had managed to produce the perfect bread. Moist on the inside with a thin crust that cracks with delight.
One of the successes of the bakery was a technical piece of equipment which is present in every restaurant kitchen nowadays, the steam oven.
The process of using this steam oven was described in a French Industrial Chemistry book dating 1849.
"the crust of these breads glazes while baking in an atmosphere of steam, to which effect, one places on the floor of the oven a pile of wet hay, well washed in advance, which produces a cloud of steam."
The steam oven completely revolutionised the current baking culture in France as other boulangeries started imitating Zang's methods. Soon enough he had to protect himself the way a military officer protects himself, with patents.
Republican Croissants
The great success of Viennese Breads was evident in the rising amount of workers in the field. By 1845 the consumption of Viennese bread had increased to such an extent that the number of workers in this specialty had risen to two hundred and fifty. These workers started an union of bakers that worked in Viennese bakeries. Like a true association they met twice a week in Passage de Panoramas.
There they discussed their common grounds, investments and expanded their industry. The union was also vocally expressive in politics and applauded the February Revolution where the July Monarchy was ended, King Louis Phillipe fell and brought forth the creation of the French Second Republic.
Zang's Legacy
After the fall of King Phillipe, Zang sold his bakery to move back to Vienna. In Vienna he started another success in 1848 with "Die Presse". Which he modeled after the French newspaper "La Presse". It is very much a newspaper that was ahead of his time with 21st century journalistic techniques, like simple paragraphs, serial numbering and a business model that we are familiar with: a low price, lots of advertisements and big volumes.
Later in his years he sold "Die Presse", owned a bank and bought a mine which is still known as Zangtal.
Rollercoaster Ride
I have taken you on quite the rollercoaster ride, haven't I. In the process of researching the croissant I grew fascinated by Mr. August Zang and his many ventures.
The croissant is still a magnificent piece of art that holds dear to any heart. But like any piece of art, one shall never know it's true history or meaning as it's in the eye of the beholder... CRUNCH