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Where did it start? -

Just as with so many wonderful things, pastry originally comes from ancient civilizations. Researchers believe that the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all ate pastry.

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Filo (phyllo) -

It is supposed that they ate a kind of filo pastry. It is made from a simple mix of flour and water. They would also use naturally sweet ingredients such as honey and fruits to make treats. They would have been similar to baklava.

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Treats - From looking at ancient wall paintings, old texts, and plays, researchers have found that they ate honey cakes, fruit pastries, sweet tarts, and dumplings containing dates and nuts.

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Romans - The Romans advanced a little more by adding oil to the filo dough. However, it was not used for treats but rather as a cover for meats. During the cooking process, the thin dough layer would keep the meat moist and prevent it from burning.

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Romans - They then threw away the pastry–it was never meant to be eaten! What the ancients didn’t have was lard or butter. Without it, their pastry had a little way to go before becoming our modern croissant.

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Medieval progress -

It took until the late Medieval period for pastry recipes to evolve. In the earliest English cooking book known to man called 'Forme of Cury,' the author writes about making chastletes and coffins. These would have been basic pie and tart cases.

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Medieval progress - The fact that people were making pies and crusts meant that their pastry was becoming more similar to the shortcrust and puff pastry we know today.

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Ingredients - Baking was becoming more popular because of the beauty of some creations. Bakers started to add saffron to the dough to give it an eye-popping color. They also started to make hand-crafted game pies as the centerpiece of feasts.

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Puff pastry - Puff pastry was supposedly created in 1645. French cook Claude Gelée accidentally created a laminated dough when he was trying to create a rolled butter cake for his sick father.

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Puff pastry - The British quickly picked up the technique. The first record of it is in 1692 with a written recipe by Hannah Bisaker. She talks about making “puff paist” where you have to put little pieces of butter over flour dough and then roll it and fold it three times.

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The master - The real boom in pastry popularity came from Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833). He is known as the first-ever celebrity chef, due to his opulent window displays. He became so famous that he went to cook for many European leaders such as George IV (1762-1830).

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The master - Carême was known as the "King of Chefs, and the Chef of Kings.” He turned French baking into the epitome of fine dining. He is even credited with creating the famous toque, the chef’s hat.

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French pastry - Carême brought the world’s attention to Paris’ pastry scene. It was in French kitchens that the famed Mille Feuille, which means a thousand leaves (referring to the many layers of pastry), was created.

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Tart Tatin - It was also in Paris, in the 1880s, that the delicious Tart Tatin was created by accident. The story goes that one of the chefs at the Hôtel Tatin was very tired one day. She tried to make an apple pie, but left the apples cooking too long. In a panic, she covered the mixture with pastry and shoved everything in the oven. To her surprise, her guests absolutely loved it.

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Other sweet things -

From the 19th century onwards, French kitchens became the laboratory for experimental baking. It was the French who brought the wonderful creme patissiere and frangipane into the world.

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Britain - Pastries were also spreading around the world. In Britain, there was a rise in cheese production. This led to more whey being available that made great food for pigs. Consequently, there was more pork available for making the famous pork pie.

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Britain - Pastry was also seen as a good way to package up food for laborers. As a convenient lunch, the newly discovered hot water crust pastry was used to create the quintessentially British Cornish pasty.

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Custard - The word custard actually comes from the Anglo Saxon word crustarde and the French crouste. Both mean a kind of crust for a pie or tart. The Portuguese bakers made use of a lot with their custard tarts or pastéis de data.

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The favorites - While tarts and pies are some of the best-liked pastry creations, there are a few others that come top of the list. These breakfast pastries are usually made with puff or viennoiserie pastry dough and come from all over the world.

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Croissants - Everybody believes that croissants are a French creation, however, they are actually from Austria. Its original name was the kipferl, but when it was adapted by the French they renamed it the croissant after its crescent shape.

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Danishes -

Again, although the name may suggest that Danish pastries are Danish, they also came from Austrian bakers. In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, the name for Danish pastries is wienerbrød, which means Viennese bread. In Vienna, Danish pastries are called Kopenhagener Plunder, which means Copenhagen Plunder.

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Éclairs - Éclairs are absolutely French. They are made with an extremely delicate choux pastry. The pastry is very difficult to work with because it does not use a rising agent. Instead, it uses moisture to create steam during the cooking process. It is the steam that puffs up the pastry.

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Éclairs - In French, éclair means "flash of lightning." People do not know if the name is due to its shiny icing or because it is meant to be eaten in a flash. Its original name was "Little Duchess."

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Strudels - Strudel originally comes from Austria as well. It is a paper-thin pastry that is layered to create depth. The filling is usually sweet, the most famous one being apples and raisins.

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Strudels - The pastry first came about during the Habsburg Empire. The name strudel is borrowed from German. It is derived from the Middle High German term for whirlpool.

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Cannoli -

Also known as cannoli siciliani due to their origin in Sicily, these little cases of joy are a real treat. They are made from fried pastry dough and filled with ricotta or other fillings.

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Pretzels - Surprisingly, pretzels also fall into the pastry category because they are made with pastry dough. These delicious twisted rings have a history that goes as far back as the 12th century. They were the emblem of bakers all over central Europe.

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Profiterole - Profiteroles are a worldwide favorite dessert. They are made with choux pastry and filled with different kinds of creams or custard. Then they are sprinkled with sugar or chocolate ganache. Marie-Antoine Carême was the chef who perfected the recipe into what we love today.

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Beignet -

The beignet is famous all around the world and there are a few different versions. The original one comes from France and is made of deep-fried choux pastry. The most famous beignets come from New Orleans in the US, where they are part of the Creole culinary culture.

Sources: (Great British Chefs) (Entity)

See also: Common baking mistakes and how to fix them

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