The golden rule is to eat a freshly baked croissant. That’s a golden rule for every French bakery. Follow the below tips on how to make the most of every mouthful.
Pick a Fresh Croissant
At PAUL, our croissants are never more than 4 hours old. We prove and bake throughout the day because croissants must be fresh from the oven to be at their very best.
Choose a croissant that’s made with pure butter. This is a crucial component of an authentic croissant.
Gently warm is best. If you’re at home, you can warm your croissants by popping them in the oven for 5 minutes at 1155° F. Second best is to eat your croissant at room temperature.
Take the Time to Enjoy
The pâte Viennoise used to make a croissant takes a long time and a lot of patience and skill to make. The resulting gloriously golden, crisp crust and deliciously soft center deserve to be savored. Allow yourself the time to sit down with your favorite hot drink and really enjoy every mouthful of your croissant.
Avoid Getting Covered in Buttery Croissant Flakes
One simple way to do this is to get a big napkin and wrap it around the bottom half of the croissant, then eat it from the top down. This certainly avoids having buttery, pastry-covered fingers.
Another very French habit is to dunk your croissant briefly in your favorite hot drink – we recommend a nice coffee – before each bite. You may get some pastry flakes in your coffee, but not all over you!
Some people advocate eating your croissant with a knife and fork. Whilst this does solve the buttery fingers problem, it’s less fun!
Try Adding to Your Croissant
Yes, we know that a croissant is already filled with butter, but adding a generous smear of cold salted butter is absolutely delicious. A dab of a really good quality jam is divine too.
Filled with sliced fruit such as strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream, a croissant turns into a lusciously sweet treat to be enjoyed at any time of day.
Croissants make for versatile and satisfying ‘sandwiches’ when cut in half and filled with savory delights such as sliced cheese, thinly sliced ham, cheesy scrambled eggs, fried egg, omelette, or any combination of these.
And finally….
. . . we don’t think you need to watch any YouTube videos on Croissant-eating Etiquette. Such things exist, amazingly, but for us, it’s a simple matter of fetching a plate to catch the crumbs and a napkin for our fingers, joyfully tearing our croissants apart and tucking in. It’s one of life’s little pleasures and a wonderful way to start the day. We recommend it – bon appétit!
