sweet breads whose structure is divided by
layers of fat. Croissants and Danish pastries
are really bread-pastry hybrids.
Varieties of Pastry in Elizabethan Times
Beginning in the Middle Ages, one of the
primary purposes of pastry was to contain
and help preserve preparations of meat.
Meat brought to a simmer inside a thick,
durable crust would essentially be
pasteurized and protected against
contamination by microbes in the air, so in
a cool place it would keep for many days.
Other dishes to be eaten freshly baked
would be made with a more delicate pastry.
As Gervase Markham wrote around 1615
in The English Housewife,
our English housewife must be skilful in
pastry, and know how and in what manner
to bake all sorts of meat, and what paste is
fit for every meat, and how to handle and
compound such pastes.