Mashed with a muffin.
Bedazzled with rainbow sprinkles.
Shrunk to $50 boxes of petite cereale.
Photographed by Arthur Elgort,Vogue, March 1999
And now, flattened and adorned with all manner of outrageous toppings.
Who knew the croissant was such a reinventionist?
For centuries, the viennoiserie has been an elegant display of French craft and simplicity.
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Like many French things, the croissant is created with equal parts substance and style.
But the pastry is actually an Austrian invention.
For many bakers, perfecting the croissant is a source of pride.
As well they shouldthe process is notoriously labor-intensive, time-consuming, and subject to the whims of the weather.
I just want to make something that people will enjoy with high-quality ingredients.
To me, thats classic and thats timeless, says Allen, who eschews the many croissant crazes.
It seems to be what customers want, given the bakery typically sells out by early afternoon.
Dominique Ansel grew up and went to culinary school in a small town north of Paris.
The mashup was an anomaly for some time, as bakers resisted the temptation of messing with a classic.
But the knockoffs soon began.
The cronut begat the cruffin which begat the crookie.
The crescent has become circular, square, and cubed.
Bakers have been liberated from tradition.
Its a perspective echoed by many bakers.
I didnt realize how sacred the croissant is, says Ashley Coiffard of Brooklyns wildly popularLAppartement 4Fbakery.
Gautier said no for long time.
He thought it was disgraceful to change the croissant that much.
But after a while, having perfected his regular croissant recipe, he decided to take on the challenge.
Two years later, the cereal remains their signature item.
We have people on our team whose job it is just to roll mini croissants all day.
Were definitely inspired, and I love seeing what everyone else is doing, says Ashley Coiffard.
Even if we would never do it, its fun to see someone totally flatten a croissant.
Pastry chefs and bakers are more empowered to be bold in breaking the traditions.
That element of the trend is really, really cool, says Allen.
Thats the ultimate question.
