Baking historians, who often qualify Zang as "Baron", "Count" or "Royal Chamberlain" though he did not hold those titles[citation needed], sometimes claim he introduced the baguette,[citation needed] but that is not supported by any period source.

In 1848, when censorship was lifted in Austria, he returned to Vienna and founded Die Presse, a daily newspaper that still exists today though after several interruptions.

The paper was modelled on Émile de Girardin's La Presse and introduced many of the same popularising journalistic techniques, including a low price supported by volume and advertising; serials; and short, easily-understood paragraphs.

In his remaining years, he owned a bank and a mine in Styria, the site of which is still known as Zangtal ("Zang Valley").

His obituary in Die Presse said only that he had spent some years in Paris and omitted all mention of his role in baking.