The origin of the medialuna is quite a legend that from its beginnings stems from war. Like many stories or legends, we cannot confirm its absolute truth, but it is an official version.
In the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire sought to expand into Western Europe under the command of Vizier Kara Mustafa. During this campaign across the Danube, the next objective was the city of Vienna, a symbol and bastion of the Roman Empire and Christian Europe.
Since Turkish forces were larger in number and strength, Pope Innocent XI demanded that Christian armies aid the Habsburgs and their emperor Leopold I. His main strategy was for the Ottomans to besiege the city in 1683 to starve those inside or force a surrender. This siege lasted nearly three months until the arrival of an army of 90,000 men from Christian European powers, who finally defeated the Ottoman army.
The legend says that, seeing the siege was not going as planned, the Ottomans decided it was time to enter Vienna from underground, so they dug tunnels at night. They never expected that Viennese bakers were awake and working. These bakers detected strange noises and warned the authorities of a possible surprise Ottoman attack. Thanks to the bakers’ alert, Austrian troops launched a counteroffensive that ended in the defeat of the Ottoman army.
For this reason, Leopold I decided to award the bakers and give them the privilege of wearing swords on their belts. As a gratitude, the bakers crafted two types of bread: one in honor of their emperor called "imperial bread" and another called "kipferl," which means crescent moon in Austrian, as a mockery of the Ottoman flag and as a way to "mock an Ottoman". These primitive kipferls or medialunas were made with yeast, flour, salt, and water. They had a semi-circle shape and were simple bread shaped like a semicircle.
Maria Antoinette of Austria was the first to bring them to France and demand that they be made there as well. In France, the kipferl was translated as "crescent roll" or "crescent moon".
In 1839, Austrian officer August Zang opened his bakery in front of the Palais Royal in the center of Paris. There, Viennesse pastry or viennoiserie was born, with various puff pastry breads made with sugar, animal fat, milk, and eggs. This marked the origin of the first authentic French croissants.
As we have seen, the medialuna has its roots in European pastry, a version of the French croissant influenced by Danish baking traditions and incorporating Rio de la Plata products.
Although medialunas and croissants are laminated doughs with alternating layers of dough and butter, they have differences. The medialuna is made with egg, and after baking, it is brushed with sugar syrup, making it softer, sweeter, yellow, shiny, and fluffy. The croissant has a more flaky dough, contains less sugar, and its crust is crispy, airy, and almost neutral in flavor. It is not brushed with syrup, and its size is larger.
Among medialunas, there are two types: those made with lard and those made with butter, according to Argentine preferences. Some prefer the crunchy, neutral lard medialunas, while others prefer the soft, sweet butter ones.
Here you have a bit of history about this Argentine delicacy. It is a product that requires a lot of effort, time, and dedication to prepare, but it is definitely worth it.
