History of baking

• Baking - Process of cooking by dry heat, especially in some kind of oven.
• Baking is the oldest cooking method that is usually prepared from flour or meal derived from some form of grain
• Bread - already common staple in prehistoric times, provides many nutrients in the human diet.
• Early centuries - wild grains were toasted and pounded into coarse meal to make a paste and this mixture was laid on a heated flat stone to be cooked. It was where Flat bread started
• Egyptians - they regularly baked bread, a skill they learned from the Babylonians.
• Ancient Egyptian mural depicts the royal bakery of Ramses which featured breads and cakes. some forms of animals. it is used as a sacrifices to their gods.
• The Egyptians developed the first ovens. Earliest known examples are cylindrical vessels made of baked Nile Clay.
• Greeks and Romans then adopted these baking skills and developed them, resulting in an artisan trade which flourished in the roman empire.
• Romans 300BC - formally recognized the position of the pastry baker. known as the Pastillarium as an occupation.
• Pliny the Elder (24 - 79 AD) Roman Author - no bakers in Rome until the middle of the 2nd century BCE.
• Early Middle Ages - baking technology advances of preceding centuries disappeared. baker reverted to mechanical devices used by the Egyptians
• Later Middle Ages - Institution of guilds was revived and expanded.
• Pastry chefs fold their own goods in Handcarts also known as Shops on wheels in London. this way, they developed a system of delivering baked goods to people's doorsteps
• First open-air cafe selling baked goods was established in Paris and baking became a fully-fledged industry and art form throughout the world
• French - responsible for making pastry dough and creating puff pastry.
• Puff pastry - steam from the water in the butter causes it to rise.
• 1856 - baking powder was introduced.
• 1868 - commercial yeast was sold. Easier for bread bakers.
• 1930s - First mechanical mixers were developed.