Croissants, those flaky, buttery delights that grace the shelves of bakeries worldwide, have long been a staple in breakfasts and brunches. As versatile as they are delicious, croissants have found their way into our hearts and stomachs.
However, as with most baked goods, curious consumers often wonder about their ingredients. In this article, we will discuss whether croissants typically contain eggs, one of the nine common food allergens. Let’s crack into the details!
Croissants & Eggs
Please read the following in full if avoiding eggs is vital to you!
Croissants do not typically contain eggs to make the actual croissants. They are traditionally made with the following ingredients:
However, it is common for croissants to have an egg wash brushed on their exterior to brown them nicely and to provide a sheen. There are also some recipes that call for eggs to be used to make the dough. An example is this Baker’s Croissants recipe by King Arthur Baking.
The above being said, you should never assume a croissant is eggless if you don’t know its ingredients. There are decent odds that any given croissant has eggs either as a direct ingredient or used on its surface as a wash.
Furthermore, unless you are making croissant in your own kitchen where you can monitor your surroundings, there is no guarantee that any given croissant does not indirectly have egg ingredients.
For instance, while the recipe for a batch of croissants from a bakery may not explicitly call for eggs, there could be an indirect presence of eggs resulting from the bakery’s use of shared equipment or other methods.
This is especially true given croissants are commonly served for breakfast or brunch where lots of eggs dishes are potentially being prepared in the kitchen. In fact, its not uncommon for croissants to be used to sandwich eggs for a breakfast meal as shown in the image below.
Final Thoughts
You should never assume a croissant is egg-free unless you can definitively confirm its ingredients. Be sure to read the ingredients of any croissant you buy from the store if avoiding eggs is vital to you. You may also wish to confirm with the manufacturer that there is no risk of trace amounts of egg being in your croissant through cross contact at the factory.
Additionally, we personally wouldn’t trust that any restaurant croissant is completely eggless unless the kitchen confirms there is no risk of cross-contamination or the croissants don’t directly have eggs. However, in this scenario, you may be putting a lot of trust in the restaurant being fully transparent and not providing you with misinformation.
Overall, croissants are generally not a good option for people practicing egg-free diets. Considering tasty eggless croissants can be made at home, this is typically your best course to take to enjoy croissants without eggs.
