The Austrian Origins Of Pain Au Chocolat

The pain au chocolat is an iconic French pastry in contemporary times, but the delicious little treat is thought to have originated not in France but in the nearby country of Austria. Pain au chocolat, which translates as chocolate bread, is a proud member of the pastry family known as Viennoiserie. The most famous example of this category is easily the croissant. You can make the pain au chocolat at home if you're up for a challenge.

The pain au chocolat was introduced to French society by the Austrian baker August Zang through his bakery, the Boulangerie Viennoise. Zang is credited for bringing the croissant to France as well, though the croissant's Austrian origin story likely dates back much farther than the pain au chocolat's. Exactly who invented the pain au chocolat and when they did so is unclear. Some people credit Zang himself for the creation because he sold the pain au chocolat's predecessor, the schokoladencroissant. There are others who question Zang's role in the story, casting doubt not only on Zang being the originator but even that he was the one to introduce the pastry to France. The jury is still out on that one, but generally speaking, Zang receives the credit these days.

A former Viennese officer, Zang was a commoner when he arrived in Paris. His talent as a baker made him incredibly successful, and his impact on French baking practices cannot be understated. He would eventually return to Austria and start another successful business — this time in the Austrian press.

The term pain au chocolat itself is actually highly disputed. An outspoken minority concentrated in the southwest region of France prefers the term chocolatine, which is itself likely a transliteration of the schokoladen from Zang's schokoladencroissant. The dispute about terminology speaks to the complicated history of the pain au chocolat. Its origins are wrapped in mystery, and its inherent fusion of Austrian and French culture makes its story all the messier.

Before Zang ever arrived in Paris, the French had a practice of sending their children to school with a bit of bread that had a piece of chocolate hiding in the center, which was also called pain au chocolat. How we ended up with a puff pastry that looks nothing like bread being called chocolate bread is a conundrum, but Zang calling it a chocolate croissant doesn't make much sense either, since the shape isn't a crescent. All of this is to say that the history of pain au chocolat is deeply misunderstood, and there doesn't seem to be any indication that new information will come to light anytime soon. Whether the pastry was invented in Austria by an unknown baker or created by an Austrian expat living in France, we may never know. Even though France has wrongfully received much of the glory for these milestones in baking history, French bakers have played an important role in upgrading the original recipe to the version we know today.