Baguettes and Croissants: Windows into French History

Charlie Eden

I. Introduction

Throughout France’s complex history, there are certain persistent themes: military capabilities (from the Frankish Kingdom armies to World War II), colonialism (from North America to Africa), intra-European influence (as the saying goes, “France sneezes and Europe catches a cold”), and revolution, to name a few. To fully understand the intricacies of these historical ideas and master French history as a whole would, of course, require a lifetime. However, most of us will not dedicate our lifetime to such pursuits; it’s fair to say that most of us will not dedicate even a day of cumulative time…

Fortunately for us, there is much to be learned from French baking. Every time we bite into a delectable French baked good, we do more than just treat our taste buds. We participate in a continued legacy of French baking whose stories, myths, and modern practices are representative of some of French history’s most relevant concepts. The histories of French baking’s biggest icons, the baguette and the croissant, are a means to grasp the importance of certain themes and moments in French history. These moments have not only permeated the chronicles of France’s culinary cultural symbols, but their influence can be noticed in artisan practices and movements today.

II. Baguette

Although the origins of the Baguette, also known as French bread, are largely unknown, the two major theories represent two pinnacle events in French history: the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In 1789, the French revolution — a fight against mass economic and political inequality — began. The famous quote “then let them eat brioche” from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions comes to mind. While this quote is often falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette — as the story goes, she declared “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!” upon being told that peasants were starving from the lack of bread — the myth still depicts the heart of the French Revolution. The French lower class (a large majority of the population) suffered while the royalty lived lavishly.

In 1792, however, the French monarchy fell, a National Convention was held, and the first major theory of the original baguette was born. The National Convention declared: “Richness and poverty must both disappear from the government of equality. It will no longer make a bread of wheat for the rich and a bread of bran for the poor. All bakers will be held, under the penalty of imprisonment, to make only one type of bread: The Bread of Equality.” Many believe that this declaration led to the invention of the baguette. Because French bread is lean and easily produced in large quantities, it is generally affordable to all and is therefore said to be the physical manifestation of “The Bread of Equality.”

In the modern French baking economy, the basis of this theory rings true but is at risk of falling apart. Every day, tens of millions of baguettes are eaten by all people alike, and “Artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” was even added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2022. However, due to rising ingredient costs, artisanal bakeries in France are shutting down left and right, putting many bakers and workers at risk of unemployment and financial insecurity. Furthermore, rising ingredient costs have led to an increase in the price of the baguette (~25% over the last ten years according to France 24), which potentially undermines its image as “The Bread of Equality,” and more importantly, alludes to the socioeconomic dangers of a cost-of-living crisis.

The second major origin story of the baguette was born about a decade after the National Convention in 1803, when the Napoleonic Wars began, and. According to legend, Napoleon ordered bread to be made long and thin so it could easily fit in soldiers’ uniforms. Of course, French bread fits this criterion.

No matter which theory you choose to believe — one of the aforementioned two or a different theory altogether — the baguette represents a critical era of French history. Perhaps the baguette is a relic of a once dominant empire whose imperial power was unmatched, even if only for a short while. Perhaps the baguette is a culinary symbol of the fight for socioeconomic equality in France that is said to have inspired similar fights across the world, such as in Ireland and Haiti. Either way, the legend of the baguette extends far beyond its importance strictly as a French culinary staple.

III. Croissants

When one thinks of “French baking,” the croissant immediately comes to mind; the crescent shaped delight has become a unique symbol of French cuisine. Unlike the baguette, however, the croissant’s origins are not French, and rather than representing major events in French history, the story of the croissant does much more to demonstrate the power of French influence. In addition, the modern industrialization of croissant production illuminates the artisan struggle against corporations.

The story of the croissant actually begins in Vienna, Austria, and it wasn’t until the 20th century when a French innovation to the Austrian kipferl (a traditional yeasted crescent roll) created the croissant we know and love. According to famous legend, in 1683 a baker working overnight in Vienna heard Ottoman soldiers burrowing beneath the city; he warned the city, and the Viennese military was able to fend off the Ottoman invaders. As a symbol of their victory and as a slight to the Ottoman empire (whose flag contained three crescent moons), bakers created a crescent shaped yeast bread called kipferl. In reality, this legend is false; the kipferl is mentioned in a poem as a Christmas gift given to Duke Leopold in 1227, demonstrating that the kipferl was around long before the Austrian victory over the Ottomans.

Beaucoup de croissants!

How, then, did the kipferl first come to France? Historical evidence credits August Zang, an Austrian baker. In 1838, Zang opened a Viennese bakery in Paris (at 92 Rue Richelieu) where he sold Viennese breads, kaiser rolls, and kipferl. His kipferl, however, was slightly different from traditional Viennese kipferl; his kipferl was flakier, planting the seeds for the flaky croissant that we enjoy today.

After only a few years of business in Paris, Zang’s bakery closed, but those few years were more than enough time to make a lasting impact on French cuisine. The French had fallen in love with Zang’s flaky kipferl and with Viennese bakeries in general—by 1840, only two years after Zang’s bakery opened there were at least a dozen Viennese bakeries in Pairs. Soon after, the word “croissant” was added to the French dictionary to refer to the butter and flour-based crescent shaped breads, and croissants became a staple of the French bourgeoisie breakfast. Even Charles Dickens mentions the “dainty croissant on the boudoir table,” in an 1872 edition of All Year Round.

In the early 20th century, the croissant as we know it was finally born when French bakers began using puff pastry (pate feuilletée in French) to make their croissants. The combination of the puff pastry and the rise from the yeast created an airier, puffier, and crispier version of the Viennese kipferl. Essentially, the modern croissant is an Austrian kipferl reimagined with a French innovation.

Today, the French croissant is a worldwide phenomenon; the Austrian kipferl, however, is not. The French croissant has inspired baking innovations (like the cronut) across the world; the Austrian kipferl has not. Why? (Of course, you could make the argument that the Austrian kipferl is the inspiration for these culinary innovations as it is the inspiration for the croissant, but I think it’s more realistic to call the kipferl a common ancestor between the cronut and the croissant as opposed to an inspiration for the cronut.)

I believe that the difference in global popularity between the croissant and the kipferl demonstrates the difference in the two countries' general global influence. For example, there is vast French colonial history in North America and therefore a precedent of French influence as well. It makes sense, then, that the croissant spread across the USA after its introduction in 1981, whereas the kipferl — although generally available across the US — is simply not as popular. The worldwide love for the croissant, to me, is rooted not only in its undeniable deliciousness, but is also suggestive of France’s history of colonialism and influence.

In France today, the popularity of the croissant does nothing to demonstrate French influence on the world; rather, it illuminates a struggle between working-class artisans and industrialization. About half of the croissants sold in Paris each day are industrially made; this of course threatens the artisan craft of handmade croissants. Bakers who are still dedicated to their artisanry are calling on the French government to set a legal boundary for what can qualify as a croissant. (For some context, to obtain the legal title of a baguette, a loaf must be baked and sold in the same location, among other rules.) These bakers will often display signs declaring “ici c'est humain,” (here, it’s human) as a means of ensuring quality to their customers and demonstrating their support for the artisan movement against industrialization of the croissant. In my mind, this artisan movement is reminiscent of “The Bread of Equality” declaration in that it represents French resistance against internal threats of power.

The croissant, although ultimately not born from any particularly monumental event in French history, still represents historical motifs of French history. Together with the baguette, we can understand major themes of French history and global influence by examining how these ideas are represented in French baking history and culture. So the next time you take a bite out of your favorite French baked goods, just remember, you are also taking a bite of French history.