Crescent Roll Vs Croissant: What's The Difference?

Crescent rolls and croissants are often mistaken for the other, both having that curved shape and a buttery taste, but this is where the similarity ends. Croissants are widely believed to hail from France, though history dates their inspiration to the Austrian kipferl. Meanwhile, the mass-produced crescent rolls are a thoroughly American innovation.

It's in their makeup that the greatest differences lie. While croissants are made from puff pastry that is laminated — meaning layers of dough and butter are folded over and over each other to form the final product — crescent rolls are made from a type of bread dough, with no lamination involved. The results are a super flaky and light croissant, and a less flaky, more bread-like texture in the crescent roll.

The folding of the butter into the dough makes croissants a rather complex and time-consuming product to make at home. Crescent roll dough generally comes pre-made in a cardboard tube which you can apportion out and then shape into your crescents. Also, croissants are proofed in their crescent shapes, whereas your crescent rolls are proofed at the start of your prep, with your yeast being activated before the other ingredients are added. You'll also find croissants are generally enjoyed as a pastry at breakfast time, with brunch, or as part of a high tea. Crescent rolls are most often seen as an accompaniment with dinner, though they can be served with breakfast too.

There are some lovely urban legends about croissants, like being invented in the 13th Century, around the time of the Battle of Vienna, to celebrate the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The crescent shape was said to imitate the figure of the waning moon on the Ottoman flag. Another traces the story to the 18th Century and how kipferl was introduced to the French court by Marie Antoinette, who missed the foods from her home country Austria. But confirmed records show the earliest appearance of kipferl in France was in 1839 at a Viennese bakery founded by August Zang, an Austrian artillery officer.

The popularity of croissants exploded, with hundreds of different types being created to tantalize palates. The Croissant Ordinaires — your standard croissant — is the most commonly found type that. These days, they are most often made with margarine instead of butter, giving you a less rich and flaky product that you'll most often pair with spreads of savory sandwich fillings. Its higher-profile counterpart, the Croissant au Beurre — the butter croissant — is made with butter, and lots of it. These you can enjoy just on their own with your fave cuppa or with a little bit of honey or jam.

Bakers can go wild adding ingredients to croissants, ranging from chocolate to cinnamon and raisins,  to almond croissants and even salted egg yolk croissants. The choice of fillings is endless, ranging from ham and cheese to croissant hot dogs.

Baked goods brand Pillsbury is often credited with the invention of the pre-packaged crescent roll dough in 1965, called Pillsbury Crescents (this is also when the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy, Poppin' Fresh, was born). This dough quickly won the hearts of Americans because of its convenience and how quickly it could be prepped, baked, and served.

Since then, Pillsbury has created 12 different types of crescent rolls, ranging from the original to Butter Flake, Honey Butter, and even Sweet Hawaiian crescent rolls. Crescent roll dough is so versatile you can do innumerable things with it — from making pigs in a blanket to pizza rolls for when you have guests over. Or take it to the dessert route and make a Sopapilla Cheesecake or some homemade beignets.

If you're a die-hard home baker who takes pride in making everything from scratch, homemade crescent roll dough is really easy and quick to make — and it can last for up to a month in the freezer. You'll need flour, sugar, yeast, butter, milk, eggs, and water, which you'll combine in stages. Then chill your dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. Then roll and fold the dough a couple of times and cut it into portions before shaping each portion into the crescent shape. Allow the crescents to rise for an hour and bake until golden with a beautiful puff to the crescents.