August Zang and the French Croissant (2nd edition): How Viennoiserie Came to France

Yes, an Austrian brought the croissant to France - but it wasn't Marie-Antoinette. In 1839, the Parisian press began to mention a new ''Viennese Bakery'' and its ''exquisite and crisp rolls''. Zang, its founder, had been an artillery officer and would become a press magnate. In his short time in Paris, he not only introduced the ''kipfel'' - the Austrian crescent roll - but techniques which would later make the baguette possible. This is a brief look at his bakery and its influence on French baking and at his later career as ''the father of the Austrian daily press''. This second edition includes a look at the rue de Richelieu and changes in Paris shops.