The historical era that saw the introduction of laminating dough with butter, which led to the creation of the modern flaky croissant, was the 17th century. Laminated dough, involving folding butter into dough multiple times to create thin, alternating layers of dough and butter, was developed gradually. The crescent-shaped dough that inspired the croissant—called the kipferl—has roots going back to 1683 in Austria. The modern croissant using yeast-leavened laminated dough was developed in the early 20th century in France, building on the earlier lamination techniques introduced in the 17th century. This culinary innovation, driven by the lamination method, gave rise to the flaky texture characteristic of croissants today.
Thus, the key introduction of dough lamination with butter dates back to the 17th century, which set the stage for the modern croissant's creation.
