Oregon Has Its Own Croissant, and It’s Very Oregon

My wife and I have lived in Portland some half-dozen times over the past two decades-plus, which also means we’ve left with the same frequency…while always visiting as much as possible. And there’s no better way to welcome ourselves back than with the Oregon Croissant at Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland, especially if it isn’t berry season. With blueberries, marionberries and hazelnut cream, it’s like a visit to the Portland Farmers Market within a world-class pastry.

The Oregon Croissant has been a stalwart item almost since Ken Forkish opened his eponymous bakery on Thanksgiving Day 2001. Once he developed his France-inspired croissant dough and hit the viennoiserie classics (butter, chocolate, almond, and ham and cheese), “I wanted one more that was unique to my bakery and that had local fruit in it,” he says. “And the shape that would hold it would be similar to a Danish.”

Initially, Ken’s made it with the same crème d’amande as an almond croissant. That was followed by the blueberries, and then, after the corners of the pastry are folded, an egg-wash. Individual marionberries are firmly pressed on top, so that they don’t roll off the dough as it expands and browns. There’s also a sprinkling of pearl sugar, adding sweetness—but not too much—and textural pop. The fruit is frozen, which allows it to be local and year-round, and also bakes up better (fresh berries would give off too much moisture and lose more of their shape).

But the Oregon Croissant did not achieve Peak Oregon until 2003, or possibly 2002—Forkish can’t remember exactly. That’s when he encountered Willamette Valley hazelnut growers Freddy Guys at…where else? The Portland Farmers Market.

Twenty-three or 24 years later, Freddy Guys’ hazelnut meal continues to be the basis for Ken’s hazelnut cream. “The result then fit the label Oregon Croissant,” Forkish says. “Oregon berries and hazelnuts into a unique pastry, with plenty of fruit in every bite.”

Forkish retired and moved to Hawaii in 2022, selling the business to longtime employees Randy Dorkin and Theo Taylor (Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Northeast was sold to different owners).

But not too much has changed at Ken’s since then. So it’s probably safe to say the Oregon Croissant will continue to be there for me as long as Ken’s Artisan Bakery is. “I can’t imagine it will ever leave the menu,” Forkish says. “It is unique to this bakery, and exemplifies the kind of place it is.”