The crescent-shaped French breakfast pastry made from laminated yeast dough is the croissant.
Croissants are made by folding butter into yeast-leavened dough, then rolling and folding it repeatedly to create thin layers. During baking, steam separates the layers, producing the pastry’s crisp outside and airy interior. Traditional croissants are usually curved, although straight versions are also common.
Despite its strong association with France, the croissant developed from the Austrian kipferl, a crescent-shaped bread or pastry. French bakers adopted and transformed the idea, especially during the nineteenth century, when laminated pastry techniques became more widespread. The name croissant refers to the pastry’s crescent shape.
A croissant is not the same as pain au chocolat: pain au chocolat uses similar laminated dough but is typically rectangular and contains chocolate. Brioche, by contrast, is rich and buttery but does not have the croissant’s layered structure.