The Art of the Perfect Croissant: A French Pastry Masterclass

One serving of cliché de France, s'il vous plaît. 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 Ozenot. In the Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Orge, people line up for his croissants. In 2021, he was officially named France's best croissant baker in a national competition. Between joy, emotion and stress, because it was knowing that we were going to have to produce. I didn't know I was going to make 1,200 croissants, but I imagined it wouldn't be the 300 croissants I make every day. 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 a 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 Zung 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 1 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. You can take a small piece, like this, and eat it. You can also dip it in your coffee. Your croissant is a little less dry, and it's a croissant coffee. What's certain is that you always make crumbs, and that's part of the pleasure of a croissant.