The new flat croissant is stirring up controversy online, as fans drool over it and haters call it everything from "not a croissant" to "an abomination."
The flat croissant trend appears to have started in South Korea where flat 2D croissants — less than 1 cm wide — are known as keurungji or croissant nurungji, a combination of a traditional croissant and a crispy rice cracker.
In Montreal, you can find a version of the flat croissant at none other than iconic Parisian-style pâtisserie Duc de Lorraine in Côte des Neiges — home to pretty much any viral croissant you could find on TikTok right now.
"We’ve been making croissants for 72 years. We use the same croissant to start the process of the flat croissant," explained Duc de Lorraine's chef, Elie Azzi, through Instagram. "It’s similar to a palmier, which is a viennoiserie that we’ve been making [...] [but] It’s much more buttery and perfect to dip into a latté."
While flat croissants around the globe have garnered praise online for being crispy, flaky and buttery all at once, they have also garnered criticism.
A Reddit thread on r/pastry about flat croissants has amassed a wide range of comments, such as "This is a crime against nature" and "The best part of the croissant is the light texture of the inside. They just took that and smashed it into [...] a bread like thing." As Reddit user teethfordice put it, "This is an abomination to pastry lovers everywhere....but I still want to try it."
It's important to note that many of these commenters seemingly did not try the flat croissant before forming their opinions on it.
Chef Azzi told us that Duc de Lorraine makes flat croissants by proofing fresh, unbaked croissants, dipping them in sugar and flattening them with a tray on top to produce the thin and crunchy texture. Once out of the oven, they are dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crispy chocolate pearls.
This disproves common misconceptions that flat croissants are made by repurposing stale croissants or smashing regular croissants.
Even so, Montreal food writer Tommy Dion of Le Cuisinomane — who actually left his house to try Duc de Lorraine's flat croissant before sharing a review on Instagram — isn't convinced that flat croissants should maintain their status as real croissants.
"For me, this is not a croissant," he said in a video prior to doing his taste test. "What makes a croissant unique is its flakiness, its honeycomb-like air pockets. It has to crack, it has to melt. A croissant has to [...] crumble. Pastry chefs spend their lives looking for the perfect recipe, controlling every factor: time, temperature, handling, and now they've just crushed it? The poor croissant."
After tasting the croissant, Dion rated it a 2.1 out of 5 and stood by his opinion that it's "not a croissant," while several people in the comments section chimed in to agree.
But one person's "not a croissant" is another person's favourite croissant. We told you these were some controversial treats!
In an Instagram video, Danny from 2 Different Backgrounds said he likes the flat croissant from Duc de Lorraine, calling it "très bon," and local content creator @j3ss.food wrote that Duc de Lorraine's viral croissants were "delicious."
On Duc de Lorraine's 'flat croissant' Instagram post, comments include "I want to try this!!!!!!!!" and "Looks heavenly 🤤".
Duc de Lorraine's croissants were inspired by the trending flat croissants overseas, made in much the same way, versions of which have been described favourably as tasting like a "crunchy croffle" and "chocolate Pocky."
We should also mention that Duc de Lorraine has made many a "best croissant in Montreal" list.
"Our team is inspired to create new products, experiment with flavours and enjoy the thrill of viral products while still honouring tradition," Duc de Lorraine owner Victoria Sorensen told MTL Blog. "The process isn't just flattening croissants. It's a unique product by itself [...] We are proud to offer a little bit of everything for every type of customer."
So what do you think? Is it a croissant or not? Do you love it or hate it?
There's really only one way to find out.
