Croissants
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
CROISSANTS
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. What is a traditional breakfast in your country?
2. Do you ever eat croissants?
3. Do you know what the French word “croissant” means?
4. Do you know when and where the first croissants were made?
5. Have you ever heard of “puff pastry”? What do you think it is?
6. Do you know what the Turkish flag looks like?
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
Croissants
Croissant is the French word for “crescent.” A croissant is a roll of
yeast bread or puff pastry shaped in a curve with pointed ends, like a
crescent moon.
According to a legend, croissants were first made about 1686. Some
bakers in Budapest were working at night when they heard noises
beneath them. When they investigated the noises, they found that
Turkish invaders were digging tunnels under the city walls. The
bakers sounded the alarm, the army blew up the tunnels, and the
city was saved. As a reward, the bakers were allowed to bake and
sell a special pastry to celebrate the victory over the Turks. The
pastry was shaped like a crescent moon, which is a symbol on the
Turkish flag.
Croissants were not baked in France, though, for another 200 years.
The first recipe for croissants appeared in a French cookbook in
1905. It used pounded almonds and sugar and was more like a
heavy bread or cake.
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
In 1906, the first recipe for the modern croissant showed up in a
French cookbook. This recipe used bread dough. A few years later,
a French baker decided to make croissants out of puff pastry, which
is a lighter, flakier dough. The dough is rolled, buttered, and then
folded in layers so that it expands when it is baked. In other words, it
puffs up. A stick of chocolate or cheese is sometimes added to the
dough before it is rolled up and baked.
Before long, the croissant was a national symbol of France, like the
Eiffel Tower. The French usually eat them at breakfast, along with
coffee and milk (café au lait). They are also cut in half and stuffed
with meat or cheese to make a sandwich or eaten like bread with
meals.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is
true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F. If it is false,
correct the information.
1. Croissants originated in France.
__________
2. The croissant is a national symbol of Turkey.
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3. The recipe for croissants has not changed since the 1600s.
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4. The modern croissant is lighter than the first croissants.
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5. The first croissants were made to celebrate a military victory.
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B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your
partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. What is a croissant and what does the word “croissant” mean in
French? ______________
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2. How did the bakers of Budapest help save their city from Turkish
invaders? _____________
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By Kru Gina-Kanjana
3. Why did the Budapest bakers make a pastry shaped like a
crescent? __________________
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4. When did croissants first appear in France?
________________________________________
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5. How have croissants changed over the years?
______________________________________
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6. What is puff pastry?
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7. Why is the croissant a national symbol of France?
__________________________________
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By Kru Gina-Kanjana
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.
_____ 1. crescent
a) instructions for preparing food
_____ 2. yeast
b) exploded
_____ 3. curve
c) kind of nut
_____ 4. investigate
d) appear
_____ 5. invader
e) get bigger
_____ 6. tunnel
f) line which has no straight part
_____ 7. alarm
g) something shaped like the moon in the first
quarter
_____ 8. reward
h) underground passage
_____ 9. recipe
i) soft mixture of flour, water, etc. for
making bread
_____ 10. almond
j) substance used to make bread rise
_____ 11. show up
k) sound or signal to warn of danger
_____ 12. dough
l) made up of small, light pieces like leaves
_____ 13. flaky
m) examine; make a careful study of
_____ 14. puff up
n) money or prize given for doing
something
_____ 15. blew up
o) someone who enters and attacks
B. Choose the right word from the left column above to complete the
following sentences.
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
1. When the fire ________________ rang, everyone ran out of the
building.
2. Your chocolate cake is delicious! Can I please have the
______________. I’d like to try to make it.
3. When the bomb ___________________, several soldiers were
killed.
4. He received a $100 _________________ for finding the lost dog.
C. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined
words in the following sentences.
1. According to legend, croissants were first made about 1686 in
Budapest.
a) books
b) bakers
c) an old story from the past
2. The first recipe for croissants used pounded almonds and sugar.
a) expensive
b) broken into little pieces
c) sweet
3. Puff pastry dough expands when it is baked.
a) becomes smaller
b) becomes larger
c) becomes
sweeter
4. Croissants are often cut in half and stuffed with meat or cheese.
a) filled
b) eaten
c) sold
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
1. The croissant has become a national symbol of France. Name five
other countries and a particular food associated with each one.
2. Nowadays, foods are becoming increasingly more international.
What types of different foods have been introduced to your country
in the last number of years?
3. Make a list of a number of different kinds of bread products and
describe each one.
Notes:
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By Kru Gina-Kanjana
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ANSWER KEY
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1-5. Individual answer
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T
B. Written Answers
1. A croissant, which is French for the word “crescent”, is a roll of
yeast bread or puff pastry shaped in a curve with pointed ends, like a
crescent moon.
2. The bakers were working late at night and heard the sounds of
invaders digging beneath them. The bakers were able to sound the
alarm, the army blew up the tunnels and the city was saved.
3. The bakers made the pastry shaped like crescent moon to
resemble the symbol on the Turkish flag.
4. Croissants first appeared in France in approximately 1886.
5. Croissants were originally heavy and bread-like and are now
lighter and fluffier.
6. Puff pastry is a very light and flaky dough.
7. The croissant is a national symbol of France because it is such a
popular food item.
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words
1. g 2. j 3. f 4. m 5. o 6. h 7. k 8. n 9. a 10. c 11. d 12. i 13. l 14. e 15.
b
B. Choose the right word
1. alarm 2. recipe 3. exploded 4. reward
By Kru Gina-Kanjana
B. Choose the right word
1. c 2. b 3. b 4. a
By Kru Gina-Kanjana