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5 min
13/01/2026
Croissants To Crullers: The Breakfast Pastry Lineup
Croissants To : The Breakfast Pastry Lineup
Crullers
Quick Summary
If your mornings feel like the sad montage in a rom-com, maybe what you're missing is a pastry that speaks your language – buttery, flaky, dramatic. From breakfast nuggets showcased in anime to well-laden Hollywood brunch tables, these baked icons are ready for their close-up. Read on for indulgent breakfasts from sweet to savoury.
Deep Dive
The wafting smell of baked goods in the morning can be simply irresistible with a cup of coffee and your favourite pastry. Long before the French invented buttery croissants and before the invention of ovens, ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks were having some form of baked pastries. They were prepared over an open fire, baked on hot rocks in the sun, and were a simpler fare, made with flour, fruits, honey, and nuts. It took a while for laminated dough to come into being, and thus were born the flaky and layered pastries, which are enjoyed for breakfast around the world.
Croissant
Perhaps the most iconic breakfast pastry out there, the croissant is a French baked good. Its predecessor is the Austrian kipferl, which is simpler and smaller than the croissant. As for the croissant, it's made with French laminated pastry, which uses a yeast-rich dough and butter, and if made well, it tends to be slightly elastic when torn from the centre. The dough is repeatedly folded, which yields the signature airiness. It is usually plain but might have a variety of fillings like chocolate, almond cream, ham and cheese, or even fruit cream.
Sfogliatella
Associated with Naples, but said to be invented by the nuns at the convent of Santa Rosa, in the Amalfi Coast, around 1700, sfogliatella are a Christmas favourite. The OG version has the pastry encasing custard cream and preserved black cherries. It only started gaining traction when a Neapolitan chef somehow got his hands on the recipe and started making these sweet pastries, alongside the usual fare of Neapolitan pizza and pasta. You get them in two types: ‘ricca’ (traditional clam-shaped ones) and ‘frolla’ (round and made with shortcrust pastry). It’s best eaten warm and crisp with a dusting of powdered sugar.