LIMITED EDITION CROISSANT The Petit Journal of Delifrance Spring 2014 - N°0 - Ghana The eye of the Petit Journal /The croissant throughout the world Market /Interview with Marketing director of Délifance The croissant hides its age very well EDITORIAL By Jean-Manuel Lévêque, Managing Director of Délifrance T www.delifrance.com here is only one obvious fact about the croissant: It tastes good. This is because its golden appearance hides a complex story, the origins of which are a matter of conjecture and mystery. Forget the date of the Siege of Vienna in 1683 or the arrival in France of Marie-Antoinette. You need to go as far back as the 13th century in Austria, or further back still to Antiquity according to some, to find the Gipfel, its briochelike ancestor. At the turn of the 20th century, the introduction of mechanical industrial tools transformed the croissant into the shape we know today. Just like the different layers of its puff pastry, the croissant is very good at hiding its age. It is unusual in the way that it is both a recent product yet one that is several centuries old. All of these contradictions have only helped to enhance its legendary status. It is from the very heart of this mythology that Délifrance draws its inspiration. While remaining closely attached to local traditional methods, we are always monitoring market trends. Mini-products specifically for the breakfast market, a catering offer with savoury products and French-style fillings: It’s our job to update the croissant, holding on to traditional methods while introducing new trends to perpetuate the legend into the present day. Trends /Between tradition & modernity International /Breakfast Culture /Every kind of Between us /The recipe throughout the world croissant of the croissant Délifrance is celebrating the croissant on the feast day of Saint Honoré ¾ Saint Honoré is the patron saint of millers, flour traders and bakers. G azing at the cream and choux pastry coated in caramel, there is plenty to enrapture those with a sweet tooth. The Saint Honoré is without doubt the masterpiece which is not only a feast for the eyes but also for the taste buds. However, it is not just a delicious French dessert. He is also the patron saint of millers, flour traders and bakers. what kind of saint is venerated by all these professions? Naturally, a key figure who championed high standards of taste, respect for traditional methods as well as a fascination for innovation. Every 16 May, his feast day provides the opportunity to celebrate places of harvest and promote the work of cereal farmers and millers. At the WHEN HONORÉ BECAME A SAINT “When this inattentive young man told his nanny that he wanted to become a priest, she was making bread. Mockingly, the fine woman replied, “and when leaves start growing from my oven peel, you’ll be Bishop!” To her complete amazement, the peel turned green before her very eyes. In memory of this miracle in 1202, a Parisian baker donated 9 acres of land to build a chapel to Saint Honoré, who became the patron saint of bakers. The Petit Journal of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana end of the chain, tribute is, of course, paid to the bakers. Each, in their own way, bears witness to a shared past which contributes to making the art of baking the dynamic, innovative and enduring sector that it is today. Délifrance, a major player in the sector, has always been quick to promote this French heritage and knowhow throughout the world. This year, we are paying tribute to the croissant. This passion for fine food is emblematic of French lifestyle everywhere around the world. Curved, straight, filled, fried or salted, this pastry is continually evolving to the delight of its aficionados from New York to Tokyo. THE EYE OF THE PETIT Around the world of the croissant ITS NAME GREECE SINGAPOR ITALY SWITZERLAND HUNGARY Croissant Straight Croissant Straight Cornetto Gipfel Croissant UNITED KINGDOM Croissant Curved & straight Curved & straight Straight Gipfel Straight Straight Curved Gipfel Croissant Curved & straight Curved Croissant Croissant Straight Curved & straight Croissant Straight Cruasan Curved & straight THE NETHERLANDS Croissant SCANDINAVIA GERMANY USA AUSTRALIA PANAMA AFRICA SPAIN ITS SHAPE In the United States, it is particularly popular as a sweet or savoury sandwich. In Panama, they love it, embellished and topped with almonds 1770 1600 1200 1700 13TH CENTURY: 1683: celebration of the defeat of the birth of the ancestor of the croissant in Austria: the gipfel $2,60 $1,95 $1,40 $1,10 $1,05 $1,25 $1,30 $2,80 $1,40 $2,10 $2,10 $1,80 $2,10 $1,40 1683 CHRONOLOGY OF THE CROISSANT ITS PRICE Turks at the Siege of Vienna, creation of the “Hörnchen” (little horn in German) by the Viennese bakers who copied the symbol of the enemy’s flag. 1800 1770: introduc- 1838: Auguste 1869: introduc- tion and popularisation of the croissant and Viennese pastry by Marie-Antoinette of Austria in France. Zang opens the first Viennese bakery in Paris tion by Pierre Larousse in the Great Universal Dictionary of the 19th century, fifth volume, “Small pastry with a crescent shape: Croissants are T JOURNAL by Délifrance In Germany, they enjoy it alongside a cup of coffee. Local adaptation: croissant in brine/savoury filling IT IS EATEN... In Scandinavia, they adapt it into a Danish-style roll or roll it up with cinnamon In The Netherlands, it is relished by itself or with butter, ham, jam or cheese. In Hungary, they love it filled and decorated with chocolate or cheese In the United Kingdom, it comes with jam and the daily newspaper. In Greece, they savour it with butter, filled with praline or chocolate. In Switzerland, it is eaten with a coffee, butter and jam. Local adaptation: gipfel (with less butter and not so moist) In Italy, they love it with a cappuccino, a coffee or a fruit juice. Local adaptation: filled with chocolate/cream/apricot/ honey/raspberry… In Spain, it is eaten sweet (topping, icing sugar, fondant, shiny), or savoury (ham and cheese) In Africa, they like it plain. 24/7, OVER THE WORLD There is no preset time for eating a croissant! Although a staple at breakfast, you can’t beat it when having a snack in the morning, afternoon or at lunch. Wherever you are in the world, the croissant provides a very convenient snack thanks to its ease-of-use. From morning to evening, it can be purchased almost everywhere from the coffee shop to the supermarket, as well as the bakery and delicatessen. In Singapore, it is plain or in a savoury sandwich with chicken, tuna or egg/mayo In Australia, they eat it plain. 2013 1950 1938 1920 1905 1869 1838 1900 made with the finest quality flour mixed with water containing beaten eggs”. 2000 1905: first publi- 1920: reinvention 1938: Included 1950: the crois- 2013: the cation of a puff pastry croissant recipe in France. of the croissant by French bakers. They replaced the brioche dough with a puff pastry containing plenty of butter, cut up into triangles, which were then rolled up to form crescent moon shapes. in the Larousse Gastronomique sant became the culinary symbol of French lifestyle. French pastry chef, Dominique Ansel, created the cronut or the successful combination of the croissant and the American doughnut. MARKET « You’re never further than 200m from a croissant » INTERVIEW SÉBASTIEN LE BESCOND Délifrance International Marketing Director since 2009 Can you give us your perspective of the croissant in the world ? Sébastien Le Bescond: The total worldwide market represents about 20 billion croissants per year. That’s an astounding three croissants per person per year for the whole world! There are only two French pastry/patisserie products, which are as widely distributed throughout the world: the macaroon and the croissant. In the built-up areas around the world, you can go as far as to say that you are never further than 200m from a croissant. The biggest markets are France (about 15% of the market), Spain, Germany and Italy. The strength of the croissant is its iconic status. Whether you are in Moscow, New York or Shangai, the demand is high for the classic French-style croissant. The expected standard is that of the typically French product made with the quality of the French baking tradition. It is a market that is booming not only because the demand is rising and spreading throughout the world but also thanks to the support, and indeed the promotion, of a rising number of sales outlets. I can explain this by the very nature of the croissant. It is a product that is appreciated by all: It is tasty, appetising, easy to eat, convenient (you can eat it at any time, sweet or savoury) and, in particular, it is steeped in history and meaning. In spite of all of this, a high degree of technical skill and experience is required in the culinary process because the puff pastry is not easy to create. Exactly what are the market segments that exist throughout the world ? SLB : There is a huge variety! Firstly, there is a wide variety of preservation types. The croissant is of course sold fresh, pre-packed, packaged under a modified atmosphere (MAP) or frozen for the B2B market essentially. Indeed, regarding the frozen ready-to-bake sector, Délifrance is the market leader. From very early on, we opted for this sector and the market has gradually shifted towards this very practical solution. The frozen ready-to-bake sector produces consistently good results with the optimisation A MULTITUDE OF SALES NETWORKS of equipment, sales floors and staff. Secondly, there are a wide variety of sales outlets. At the European level, and contrary to what you might think, the croissant is mainly sold in supermarkets (over half of the sales) followed by the away-from-home sector (cafés, hotels, etc.) and 20% in bakeries. The French outlook on “IN EUROPE, A CROISSANT FOR EVERYONE” bakery purchases stands out from the rest of the sector at the worldwide level. Finally, there is also a broad range of offers at the local level. In Europe, there are local adaptations of the croissant depending on national traditions. In Spain, the artesano croissant is made with lard. In Germany, it is sometimes shaped differently and called a Gipfel. In Italy, the croissant is filled and/or made with brioche dough. In France, a difference has traditionally been made between the ordinary croissant (curved and made with margarine) and the butter croissant. However this distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Simply put, in Europe, everyone has their own view on the croissant. For a French person, it is never filled. For an Italian, it must be filled. Each one of these countries has its own pastry making culture. Let’s not forget that it was the Austrians who brought the croissant to Paris. It was the French who then adapted it to create the current puff pastry version. What is the role of Délifrance in deploying the croissant throughout the world ? SLB: Délifrance contributes to this development with its broad range of French and local croissants, its network and the solutions it offers. Every year, Délifrance sells and produces croissants of every kind, in every network (hotels, cafés, supermarkets, etc.), in over 70 countries with the help of its 18 subsidiaries worldwide. Délifrance supplies all of these sales outlets and provides solutions and products suited to each one. Our capacity to adapt can be seen, for example, in the sales solutions provided to assist outlets. A croissant is not presented in the same way in a bakery, supermarket or coffee shop. In conclusion, how would you explain the undisputed success of the croissant ? SLB: It’s true, this is a market that is continuing to experience significant growth despite the fact that it is in an extremely competitive and wide ranging market. For breakfast, this includes cereals, bread, yoghurt and pancakes among a host of other products. On the snack sector, the competition comes from products as wide-ranging as fruit, yoghurt, ice cream, fizzy drinks and confectionery products. In my opinion, one of the reasons for the success of the croissant, is that it tells a story. It is not just a delicious product that comes from nowhere; it satisfies a deep yearning for purpose and fantasy in addition to its inimitable taste and texture. The Petit Journal Jo of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana TRENDS Between tradition and modernity French Donut (ready to fry) LE CRONUT The latest craze in the culinary world at the moment is the cronut, a combination of the French croissant and the American doughnut. Cronut, created by Dominique Ansel WORLD CHAMPION The crois’sandwich The crois’sandwich, a real revolution in the snack sector. C reated by the French pâtissier, Dominique Ansel, it brings together the imagination of two great gastronomic stories. After two months of testing and the trial of over ten different recipes, Dominique Ansel invented it in May 2013 in New York. This pâtisserie involves dunking the puff pastry of the croissant into The techniques used in making it are inspired by traditional baking methods: slow kneading, gentle rolling and baking in an oven with a stone base. THE CROISSANT MAISON HÉRITAGE The croissant promotes French lifestyle. the doughnut fryer. This croissant-doughnut is then rolled in sugar, filled with cream and covered with icing according to preference. It is sold at $5 per unit and in packs of six at the most. In short, it takes three days to make in his Soho bakery, three hours of waiting to purchase one and… three minutes to eat one! F rom this starting point, Délifrance has set itself a target of going back to the origins of its success. This is because when you inherit a tradition, you must be able to update it. First step: recognising the French essence of the product. The Croissant Mai s on Hé r it ag e is made using traditional produce: wheat flour, cane sugar, Brittany butter and Label Rouge certified eggs. T he crois’sandwich is surfing the wave of hybrid products. It is the savoury version of the croissant combined with features of a Viennese bun. Its shape is long and straight. Its soft and crunchy texture is obtained by its unique puff pastry composed of wholemeal wheat flour and different types of seeds (linseed, poppy seed, sunflower seed). This creation by Délifrance was awarded a number of prizes in Europe (2013 Sirha de l’Innovation 2013 top prize (France), ITQI (International Taste Quality Institute), 2013 Innovation award (The Netherlands), Café Society Award (United Kingdom))… Further evidence of its success was demonstrated during the 10th Délifrance Sandwich World Cup, where the winner put forward a sandwich based on this pastry product. The Turk, Hakan Ozfirinci, created the first “Crois’Duck Sandwich”. The filling was a bold blend of duck with orange, roast sweet pepper and pomegranate vinaigrette. Once more, the croissant crosses the frontier between sweet and savoury, between the East and the West. Finally, as with all of Délifrance’s pastries, the recipe is free of any colouring agents, artificial flavouring or hydrogenated fats. This results in a product that is both crunchy and melts in the mouth, with a warm colour and a golden puff pastry. More than an icon, the Croissant Maison Héritage preserves French good taste with mouthwatering consequences. The Petit Journal of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana CULTURE Croissant: the state of the art WHEN THE CROISSANT BRINGS THE FAMILY TOGETHER THE CROISSANT ON THE BIG AND SMALL SCREEN « Now, Karenin waited in the hall, looking up at the coat rack where his collar and lead were hanging. Tereza put on his collar and they went shopping. She bought some milk, bread, butter and, as always, a croissant for him. On the way back, Karenin trotted along beside her, with the croissant in his mouth. He looked around proudly, probably delighted to be noticed and pointed out by others. Once they got back home, he waited at entrance to the bedroom with the croissant in his mouth, waiting for Tomas to notice his presence, crouch down, start to scold him and pretend to take the croissant from him. This scene would repeat itself day after day. They would spend a good five minutes chasing each other around the flat until Karenin would hide away under the table to hurriedly eat his croissant. » First, there was incredible opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Audrey Hepburn, more elegant than ever in her Givenchy evening dress, getting out of a taxi on the iconic Fifth Avenue. It is early morning. She is as impeccable and fresh-faced as the night before. Like any self-respecting New Yorker, she eats her breakfast out of a brown paper bag. As she gazes through the window of a jewellery shop, she eats a croissant with a takeaway coffee. Luxury resides in simple things. The croissant is also the symbol of love at first sight. In the movie, It’s complicated (2009), Meryl Streep, an experienced baker, teaches Steve Martin how to make a chocolate croissant. Their hands touch when rolling the puff pastry. Their good mood is communicative. They have the time to enjoy being together. Then, the moment arrives when they can taste the hot croissant straight from the oven... a shared moment of pleasure. Extract from The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1984, Milan Kundera ON THE WEB On Youtube, there is an increasing number of demonstrations on how to make croissants. The joycevonna.com website is the leader with over 1 million views of its How to make croissants video. Star chefs like Gordon Ramsay have gone in search of its secrets: “Love, Butter & Good Ingredients”. Over 600,000 web users have viewed his quest. Sometimes, fun is made of the croissant on the web. The most recent one is a parody of European cinema by the American presenter, Ellen DeGeneres: “the Croissant and the False Moustache. » In social media, the croissant is also a very popular subject. This is reflected in the large number of related images on Pinterest or articles written by food bloggers. As for the #croissant hashtag, it has a significant popularity index of 38.4/100 according to hashtagify. me Naturally, among the 10 most commonly associated hashtags on Twitter, you will find some key references to French tradition: #café, #cheese and #baguette. http://www.joyceyvonna.com/ Gordon Ramsay: http://youtu.be/eCIA59ALWxo Ellen DeGeneres: http://youtu.be/eCIA59ALWxo http://www.pinterest.com/ http://hashtagify.me/ http://twitter.com/ The Petit Journal of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana THE HEROES OF THE CROISSANT The croissant has its own hero: a brilliant Austrian of many talents. August Zang (1807-1888) was the archetypal self-made man. Not satisfied with having invented the percussion rifle at the age of 29, he became a pastry maker. Our gunner-baker then set off to conquer Paris with his friend and partner, Ernst Schwarzer. In 1838, he opened his first Viennese bakery on 92 rue de Richelieu. It was a success. He introduced the French to the ancestor of the croissant: the Kipferl. In 1848, the entrepreneur once again made a new start. He returned to Vienna and ventured into the modern press industry to make his fortune. This millionaire magnate single-handedly embodies the elements that make up the myth of the croissant: The marriage of the field of battle, the baker and the newspaper. THE 10 TOP HASHTAGS associated with the #croissant hashtag: #food foo fol #follow #c #cafe #breakfast #coffee #starbucks #chocolate #followba #followback ees #cheese gue #baguette INTERNATIONAL Breakfast around the world NEW YORK UNITED STATES LONDON UNITED KINGDOM RABAT MOROCCO TOKYO JAPAN BYRON BAY AUSTRALIA Laure, 31 Paul, 26 Omar, 41 Cotté-Yazaki family, 41, 37 and 5 Carolina, 20 «Every New Yorker has their own breakfast. The partygoer opts for the harshest of all: two aspirin and a glass of water. Or, a deluxe double burger before going back to bed. That model from Chelsea eats a crispbread and a glass of vinegar. The businessman from Fulton Street buys a takeaway cream cheese bagel and a black coffee from a food truck. He takes it with his daily vitamins. The society woman from the Upper East Side has lunch with her friends around a fruit salad and a clover juice after a session at the gym. The hipster from Williamsburg has the time to sit down and enjoy a pancake. As for me, I chop and change my menu all the time to suit my mood!» «During the week, I make myself a good-old porridge: crushed oats with a thick and sticky consistency. I add a knob of butter and some maple syrup. On Sundays, it has to be the Full English Breakfast: fried eggs, sausages, black pudding, bacon, hash brown, toast and cooked tomatoes. Not forgetting the ketchup. As for muffins and scones, I particularly enjoy them at teatime with a cup of tea.» «I make a cup of coffee or a sweet mint tea. And then I feast on Moroccan specialities that I heat up, namely the Beghrir (pancake with 1000 holes) or the Harcha (thick semolina cake). I spread them with euphorbia honey or Aïcha jam. Finally, I drink a freshly squeezed orange juice from the garden. Otherwise, I stop off at the Délice, the Swiss pâtisserie in the town centre and I order a cream coffee and a croissant.» «We enjoy either a western breakfast (toast, jam, yoghurt) or some rice with a selection of the following: t the leftovers from the previous day t some furikake (a kind of Japanese condiment, a mixture of sesame, varech and salt) t some shirasu (small fish) with a raw egg and some soya t some grilled fish (salmon, mackerel) and miso soup [luxury version] t some nato (fermented beans) t a mug of decaffeinated coffee for the grownups, a bowl of cocoa for the youngsters.» «We wake up to the sound of the cockatoos of the jungle. We have the typical breakfast of this former British colony: grilled bacon, fried button mushrooms, eggs, baked beans from a tin with a cup of tea and some toast with butter. At the moment, we are living on a tight budget, so we often make porridge. This is made with cooked oats flakes with salt or sugar. Finally: after brushing our teeth, we grab our swimsuits, put the surfboards on the roof of the car and set off for the beach!» CREAM CHEESE BAGEL BLACK COFFEE FRUIT SALAD CLOVER JUICE PORRIDGE FRIED EGGS SAUSAGES BLACK PUDDING BACON HASH BROWN TOAST COOKED TOMATOES COFFEE SWEET MINT TEA BEGHRIR HARCHA EUPHORBIA HONEY AÏCHA JAM ORANGE JUICE RICE FURIKAKE SHIRASU RAW EGG SOYA GRILLED FISH MISO SOUP NATO BACON MUSHROOMS EGGS BAKED BEANS TEA TOAST The Petit Journal of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana BETWEEN US Recipe of the butter croissant EENGUERRAN CATHALA’S RECIPE Teacher at the Ecole de Boulangerie et de Pâtisserie (bakery and pâtisserie school) in Paris For 12 croissants: flour (500g), milk (300g), water (250g), sugar (50g), fresh yeast (20g), salt (9g), butter (250g). SPICY DETAILS CHARLES DICKENS refers to it as one of the basic elements of breakfast, « the workman’s pain de ménage and the soldier’s pain de munition, to the dainty croissant on the boudoir table. » 1 Make a well in the flour and add all the other ingredients followed by the water. Mix until you obtain a consistent dough and knead by hand for 10 minutes. Allow to rest in the refrigerator. Flatten the butter into a square of about 20cm x 20cm. Then incorporate one layer of butter between two layers of pastry. SMALL CONUNDRUM. When the croissant is made of butter (and not margarine, as in the so-called “ordinary” croissant), it is straight… This creates an exception to the rule of the half-moon shape. However, when it is crescent shaped, it is known as a “curved croissant”, which is a pleonasm, as you are stating the same fact twice! Look on the crunchy side of life! 3 Roll the pastry (about 4mm thick) and cut out 12 triangles (about 25cm high and 8cm wide). Roll up the triangles starting at the base and finishing at the point. Glaze the prepared croissants with a beaten egg and leave to rise for about two hours at 24°C. Glaze them a second time and place in the oven at a temperature of 180°C for about 15 minutes. BETWEEN THE CRESCENT MOON AND THE BULL’S HORN. There are two opposing versions to the origin of the curved shape of the croissant. The first legend goes back to the victory of the Austrians over the Turks. The croissant is said to be a copy of the crescent moon shape displayed on the Ottoman flags in order to celebrate the victory. The second hypothesis associates its shape with the horn of a bull. Indeed, in Italian, isn’t the croissant known as a corneto? k! istiiic Very Art ! iiick esist Irr An extra-crispy stick, sprinkled with crunchy little grains of sugar. ing r stand A palmie tention! to at WHY IS IT GLAZED? Currently, professional bakers glaze croissants using an egg-based glaze. This was not the case originally. The first mechanical ovens, which gave rise to the present-day raised puff pastry, used water vapour and gave the croissants a golden colour. Today’s croissants are glazed in order to reproduce this appearance. k! stiiic Fanta 2 Roll the pastry and fold over to form 3 layers (letter style) Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then roll and fold over to form 4 layers (wallet style). Put back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Once you have finished this layering stage, you have 12 layers of butter forming the leaves of the puff pastry. The irresistible combination of two layers of puff pastry with DUDVSEHUU\ßOOLQJ A delicious pastry with the great taste of fruit! ier palm rry be en a Wh s rasp t mee Publication manager: JEAN-MANUEL LÉVÊQUE Editor: MARIE ABIVEN The Petit Journal of Délifrance - No. 0 - Ghana A crispy puff pastry rolled around a delicious DSULFRWßOOLQJ A thinner and crispier version of the stick, reinventing a classic viennoiserie shape, allowing you to stick and twist. ! ain t ag Twis Designer, creation and editing: DATAGENCY Illustrations: MARC FERSTEN