Croissants

Croissants (the French name for the crescent-shaped roll—the German name is Gipfel), which are as popular in northern and eastern Europe as they are now in the United States, are thought of as primarily French. That’s probably because the French-style croissant has that buttery, flaky quality we associate with the best of this kind of pastry. Swiss, Viennese, and other versions are a bit more breadlike and less flaky. In France, yeast-risen croissants, such as these, are known as croissants de boulanger (bread baker’s croissants) and they may be prepared plain, with fillings, or as pains au chocolat, rectangular packages of croissant dough containing a slender bar of chocolate. Other filled croissants which may be made from non-yeasted puff pastry are somewhat less light than the yeasted type. The puff pastry croissants are usually referred to as croissants de pâtissier (pastry-cook’s croissants).