Legends of the birth of the croissant involve war and a bright baker.
Experts agree that the croissant was inspired by the Austrian kipfel.
This was a crescent-shaped pastry full of butter or lard and sometimes sugar and almonds.
Yum.
The story goes that a 17th-century baker saved his city.
It may have been either Vienna in 1683 or Budapest in 1686.
The baker was up early making bread when he heard the invading Turks tunneling underneath the city and sounded an alarm.
His reward was the exclusive right to bake crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the incident.
The crescent was the symbol of Islam.
The kipfel was born and thus the croissant.
Conveniently, another legend holds that the cappuccino was invented almost simultaneously.
Via New York Times
