A croissant, a kipferl and a cornetto
Across various accounts of croissant history, most sources agree that it originates from Austria as the kipferl.
Made from yeasted wheat dough, the kipferl is a baked bread roll common in Central Europe. Records state that the kipferl has been around as early as the 13th century, but many believe it may be even older.
Popular myths attribute its invention as a celebration of the Ottoman Empire`s defeat in the Battle of Vienna - the crescent shape represented the moon of the Ottoman flag.
Regardless of the kipferl`s origin, it would migrate to France later in the 19th century.
In other common legend, Marie Antoinette is said to have introduced the kipferl to French court, homesick for foods from Austria.
While it`s a romantic story, there are no historical records to back up this retelling.
The earliest recorded intoduction of the kipferl to France occured in 1839, when Austrian artillery officer August Zang founded a Viennese bakery in Paris. Parisians fell in love with the Viennese baking as a whole, and imitated the bread in their own shops.
The name ``croissant`` also began appearing in historical record, referring to the crescent shape of the bread. In 1915, Sylvain Claudius Goy recorded the first-known French version of the croissant recipe.
Instead od brioche dough, as August Zang used, Goy transformed the recipe to use a laminated yeast dough.
Lamination involves folding butter and dough to create thin, flaky layers of pastry.
And thus, the iconic French pastry we known and love today was born.
On the other hand cornetto (the Italian version) includes more butter, but no eggs and less sugar...