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Introduction

The history of baking began with early humans discovering fire and using heated stones and embers to cook grains into flatbread. This development radically changed human lifestyle and diet, allowing people to settle instead of hunt. Ancient Egyptians were baking bread as early as 2600 BC, and reliefs from that time depict royal bakeries and animal-shaped breads used for sacrifices. Greeks in the 5th century BC were known to make honey-filled pastries and patterned cakes. The Roman Empire advanced baking techniques and the first pastry cooks' guild formed in the 4th century AD. Baking became a highly respected profession, and records from 234-148 BC list over a dozen types of breads and pastries that

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145 views2 pages

Introduction

The history of baking began with early humans discovering fire and using heated stones and embers to cook grains into flatbread. This development radically changed human lifestyle and diet, allowing people to settle instead of hunt. Ancient Egyptians were baking bread as early as 2600 BC, and reliefs from that time depict royal bakeries and animal-shaped breads used for sacrifices. Greeks in the 5th century BC were known to make honey-filled pastries and patterned cakes. The Roman Empire advanced baking techniques and the first pastry cooks' guild formed in the 4th century AD. Baking became a highly respected profession, and records from 234-148 BC list over a dozen types of breads and pastries that

Uploaded by

Aaron Sekai
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

INTRODUCTION THE HISTORY

OF

BAKING

The interesting history of baking and pastry-cooking! Or how did it all start? One thing is sure, people could never have survived without food, but what is now called the staff of life, bread, and the making of it started in comparatively recent times. Right in the beginning of recorded history there was the discovery of fire making, thus along with light, heat could be generated. Then there followed the discovery of different grasses and their seeds which could be prepared for nourishment. With the help of heat and grain, one was now able to prepare a kind of broth. Hot stones were covered with this broth or the broth was roasted on embers and hey presto the first unsoured flat bread was created. This ability to prepare stable food radically changed the eating habits and lifestyle of our early ancestors, from being hunters they became settlers. The Egyptians Records show that already in the years 2600-2100 B.C. bread was baked by Egyptians, who it is believed had learned the skill from the Babylonians. A relief representing the royal bakery of Ramses features bread and cakes, some of these were shaped in the form of animals and used for sacrifices. Other early records, this time by the Greek scholar (Aristophanes 450-385 B.C), show the existence of honey flans and patterned tortes. According to Aristophanes, the ancient Greeks also had a type of doughnut made from crude flour and honey called Dispyrus a ring-cake that was submerged in wine and consumed hot.

A relief representing the royal bakery of Ramses III who reigned over Egypt in the 12 th century B.C.

The Roman Empire Inevitably Greek culture influenced the Roman Empire ; bakery know-how was transformed and really flourished. During the fourth century A.D., evidence also emerges of the first pastry-cooks association or

pastillarium in those times nomenclature. Now it is well known, the Romans were a lusty, festivity loving lot and even though a decree was passed by the Senate designed to curb excesses by citizens, the sweet art of pastry-cooking (considered decadent by some) emerged as a highly respected profession. Indeed the bakery business was so profitable that in the time of Christ around three hundred independent bakers existed in Rome . Just how rewarding and diverse the trade then was is recorded by Cato (234-148 B.C.) Could it be that the French word Gteaux used for tortes is a derivative of this mans name? Anyhow, Cato names a great many different kinds of bread, sacrificial cakes libum, cakes made with flour, groats and cress placenta, pretzels spira, tortes scibilata, fritters globus apherica, Bowl-cake erneum, sweet cake savaillum and sidrer-cake mustaceum.

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