The traditional croissant is usually said to have been invented by the French, but is nevertheless quite good. (They didn't, but that's by the by.)
Howevertheless, regular eaters of croissants will have noticed that the ends of the croissant "horn" can often be a little over-cooked, causing them to shatter into shards when touched by the butter-knife. This is an inevitable consequence of the design - the innermost parts of the fat body of the croissant take longer to cook than the thinner tips.
The solution, as any good freelance consultant topologist will tell you, is to be found in the torus.
Toroidal croissants are much harder to make than croissant-shaped croissants, and this will probably be completely beyond the French. One starts not with a flat triangle of pastry on a flat work surface, but instead with a sleeve of pastry wrapped around a vertical cylinder.
To form the toroidal croissant, the pastry is rolled down the cylinder, turning out on itself, rather as one might roll down a stocking. Once it reaches the bottom (of the cylinder, that is), the supporting cylinder is lifted out and the resulting toroidal croissant is baked.
The result is a doughnut-shaped yet still multilamellar pastry, with a uniformly crisp outer surface and a uniformly moist and springy interior.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 24 2016 Alternative design http://www.turbosqu...not-3d-model/435280A 'knot' design might be better - it has echoes of the original croissant shape whilst playfully suggesting 'pretzel' - and combines these virtue with the same lack of over-crispy pointed ends that [Max] highlights in his design. [hippo, Apr 25 2016] Danish_20pastry_20grip_20points [hippo, Apr 25 2016] Unbelievably brilliant and it sounds so yummy. Are you sure this isn't baked? Hmmm...Are you sure you're not French, REALLY???-- blissmiss, Apr 24 2016 French, moi??-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 24 2016 Great idea, and does not appear to be baked though it would only take about 15 minutes. [+]-- whatrock, Apr 24 2016 If I'm not mistaken, this is already baked - it's called the cronut.
Interestingly, it was invented in America by a Frenchman.
And actually, going by the cross-section image on the Cronut wikipedia page, it doesn't seem to be manufactured by your method, so it seems different enough to be worth trying.-- Loris, Apr 25 2016 //it's called the cronut.//
Zut alors. Typical of the bloody French to go and invent something like that before me. They only do it to annoy.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 25 2016 I'd like to see the manufacturing process for 'toroidal knot' croissants, as in the linked picture.-- hippo, Apr 25 2016 I like the idea of a torroidal croissant, but not quite as much as the idea of a croissant-shaped bagel.
A taper isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it adds enough structure, in some cases, to support the entire croissant using only a finger and thumb grip at one of the horns. This way the finger-to-croissant interface is minimised, a practical benefit should you be eating one whilst overhauling the hydraulics on your robot, applying measured quantities of psychedelics to termites with a swab, or utilising public transport.
In short, a robust handle baked into the goods is a utilitarian feature that should only be meddled with with the utmost care, and only for the most genteel and sensitive palates unaccustomed to all but the moistest of morsels.-- zen_tom, Apr 25 2016 [zen] - see link-- hippo, Apr 25 2016 Suitably bunned - however, I'd conject that the humble croissant is that very linked-idea made flesh, in that the horns are there, "baked-in" so to speak, for the exact purpose of avoiding finger/bread transition scenarios. Sadly, I don't have the original patent specifications to hand for the initial croissant submission, but bearing in mind we're talking about France here, it's reasonable to surmise natural filth-management concessions would have carried significant weight in the original design brief.-- zen_tom, Apr 25 2016 Indeed, or some sort of croissant forceps (or in French "forceps croissant") might be a clever solution.-- hippo, Apr 25 2016 [Hippo] I like the toroidal knot. However, there is a risk that if any French person were to see it, their head would explode.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 25 2016 ...and now the weather: there's a risk of clear skies, sunshine and light breezes tomorrow...-- hippo, Apr 25 2016 I must confess that although recently I was considering alternative croissant shapes (I was considering a simple extension, retaining the original crescent form, but about as long as a baguette), I am struggling somewhat with the idea of not being able to eat it by tearing off individual segments, as is correct with a conventional croissant. How would one know which end of the torus to start at?!-- TomP, Apr 25 2016 I think that that question can be answered only by extended and repeated experimentation.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 25 2016 //I am struggling somewhat with the idea of not being able to eat it by tearing off individual segments, as is correct with a conventional croissant.//
Then perhaps I can draw your attention to the sacrilegious 'fishbone' croissant, which has individual pastry ribs. You can hold it by the head end; there are two slightly stiffened unglazed areas for thumb and forefinger where eyes would be.-- Loris, Apr 26 2016 [+] The idea title alone is sufficient for a bun, though the yummy content makes it doubly deserved.
Naturally, I am now wondering how else this idea might be used.
Cinnamon roll, anyone?-- goldbb, May 03 2016 [+] The idea title alone is sufficient for a bun, though the yummy content makes it doubly deserved.
Cinnamon roll, anyone?-- goldbb, May 03 2016 random, halfbakery