Baklava And Filo Were The First Pastries Created By Ancient Egyptians National Pastry Day is celebrated each year on December 9. Pastry is a name given to a large variety baked goods which are made with ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and eggs. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and then used as a base for different baked products. A few of the more common bakery items include pies, tarts, quiches and pasties. Pastries can be traced as far back as the ancient Mediterranean where they had almost paper-thin, multilayered baklava and Phyllo dough. Pastry making began in Northern Europe after the Crusaders brought it back from the Mediterranean. French and Italian Renaissance chefs eventually perfected the puff and choux pastries while 17th and 18th-century chefs brought new recipes to the table. Included in the new recipes were; Napoleons, cream puffs and eclairs. Culinary historians often consider French pastry chef Antonin Careme (1784 – 1833) to have been the original great master of pastry making in modern times. There are many different types of pastry, most of which would fall into one of the following categories: Shortcrust pastry – simplest and most common. Sweetcrust pastry – similar to the shortcrust but sweeter. Flaky pastry – simple pastry that expands when cooked. Puff pastry – has many layers that cause it to puff when baked. Choux pastry – very light pastry that is often filled with cream or other fillings. Phyllo pastry – paper-thin pastry dough that is used in many layers. Baklava and Filo were the first pastries created by the ancient Egyptians who fashioned these first crude pastries out of grain meal flavored with honey, fruits and spices. Pastries were first brought to Europe during the Muslim invasion of the 7th century and quickly captured the imagination of European chefs. The most important tool of any pastry chef are his or her hands. It was not until about the mid-16th century that actual pastry recipes began appearing in various European countries. The original donuts of New England did not get its name because of the presence of any nuts. They were actually pastries without holes and were made in the shape and size of walnuts and hence they were named donuts. Mantecados La Muralla baked a “polvoron” – a type of shortbread – which measured 16.25 feet long and 7.87 feet wide and weighed 660 pounds, setting the world record for the Largest Pastry. Sources: National Day Calendar Mobile-Cuisine.