Actually, this test is pretty much unnecessary. After all, when asked about the best vanilla crescents, there is only one answer that is always the same, but it always means something different: The best croissants are those from your own childhood, baked by grandma or mom, tasted under your parents’ Christmas tree or after secret theft from the storage jar. But what if you cannot fall back on the (large) maternal repertoire because it has to be done quickly? Then you have to decide between bakery chain and discounter, between organic and drugstore.
The star chef Franziska Schweiger provides assistance. In addition to the smell, she especially pays attention to whether the cookies are crumbly and loose. “They have to break gently on the tongue,” says Schweiger. “The dough must not be kneaded for too long, otherwise too much glue will develop and the croissant will be too firm.” Too high a baking temperature is also a croissant killer; Schweiger himself bakes them at a maximum of 165 degrees. In addition, real vanilla from the pod is a bonus over artificial vanilla flavor. “And I want to taste almonds,” she says, because even if there are good recipes with hazelnuts or walnuts, almonds are simply the classic. In the end, she is a bit disappointed with the industrial and wholesale bakery goods, and one is happy to be able to present her with a few copies from mother’s storage jar as a consolation that makes her conciliatory again. The overarching conclusion is: Homemade from grandma or handmade from the factory is always better than industrially baked croissants.