This Bakery Has Created The Holy Gluten Grail: The Croissant Loaf

Have you ever bitten into a fresh, flakey croissant (chocolate interior optional) and thought, "man, this is so good, I wish I could eat more later in a convenient format!"? Well, you're in luck, because Beurrage, a bakery in Chicago, has bestowed upon us the croissant loaf: a loaf of bread made in the form of that beloved Parisian pastry. It's the best thing since, well, sliced bread.

The loaf is made from leftover croissant scraps after the crescents are formed, according to a Bon Appétit interview with bakery owner Jeffrey Hallenbeck. After pondering this "waste not, want not" dilemma, Hallenback thought of the idea of throwing the scraps into a bread pan, "all willy-nilly." In reality, Hallenback braids the scraps together to make long strips, folds them into a bread pan, and bakes them to crumbly perfection, topped with a golden crust. Some call it the cro-loaf, but we think we think that just makes it sound like that other croissant variety popularized by Dominique Ansel.

The croissant loaf is not entirely new. You can find other recipes online — like this one — and try it yourself.