Historians trace the croissant’s roots to Austria in the form of a "Kipferl". "Kipf" means a crescent, mound or peak in German. But around 1837, an Austrian officer turned baker, August Zang opened the first Viennoiserie in Paris, introducing the Parisian elite and bourgeoisie to this new delicacy that eventually became an essential part of the French lifestyle.
While the original shape of the croissant was that of a crescent moon and initially all croissants were shaped this way. As croissants became more popular and more commercial, some bakers started using margarine, a cheaper croissant ingredient than butter. Around the early 1970s, proud artisan bakers wanted to differentiate between their croissants still baked with butter and those with margarine. So, they came up with the radical idea of changing the shape of "their" croissants made with high-quality butter. They changed the familiar crescent shape to a straight-tipped shape. You might, therefore, be forgiven if you think a straight-shaped croissant is better than the crescent one.
At the La Motte Bakery, however, we proudly honour the history and the original shape of the crescent moon for more crunch on the tips and easy eating – and therefore staying true to the original recipe, shape and "only quality butter".
According to legend, the croissant’s crescent form comes courtesy of the mayor of Vienna, who awarded the "saviours of the city of Vienna" with a Kipferl with the luxurious addition of butter and shaped in honour of the Imperial Ottoman Army flag.
The story goes that a group of bakers working in the city’s cellars at night took notice of the Ottoman troops tunnelling under Vienna’s streets to bypass its protective walls. They alerted authorities and thus averted a potentially catastrophic invasion of the city.
An everyday treat in the La Motte Bakery, it is especially when celebrating our French heritage, that a croissant with our Somm coffee or sparkling wine becomes irrésistible! Join us this weekend when in remembrance of Bastille Day, the drapeau national de la France will be waving all over the Franschhoek Valley, and we will be serving beautiful, curved croissants – the very reason why our classic croissant is called "1837"!
In addition to celebrating the history of this iconic croissant, a new invention has been prepared in celebration of Bastille Day itself – again in the form of edible art.