Biscuits
Biscuits, Crackers, Cakes, Fine bakery ware......
These foods are among the earliest prepared by Neolithic farmers 10,000 years ago. A grain water paste cooked on a hot stone. The earliest recipe for biscuits and crackers is of the Roman chef Apicius, in which "a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened it was cut up and then fried until crisp, then served with honey and pepper." (Britannia).
The word 'Biscuit' is derived from the Latin words 'Bis' (meaning 'twice') and 'Coctus' (meaning cooked or baked).
The earliest cookie-style cakes are thought to date back to 7th century Persia who was interestingly one of the first countries to cultivate sugar. This spread to the Eastern Mediterranean. With the Muslim invasion of Spain, then the Crusades and the developing spice trade, the cooking techniques and ingredients spread into Northern Europe.
Due to their low water content these were both easy to store and travel with as was seen in the 14th and 15th centuries as exploration of the globe began. They were a staple food as they could be stored in airtight containers for these long voyages. Thus the world of baking saw its first major boom.
Indeed it was English, Scotch and Dutch immigrants, who originally brought the first "cookies" to the United States. The name cookie derives from the old Dutch word "Koeptje" meaning small cake.
The word Cake is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse ‘kaka' meaning a baked flour confection sweetened with sugar or honey; it is mixed with eggs and often with milk and butter. The rising during cooking gives it a porous texture. As techniques for baking and leavening developed these food items became more distinguishable from breads.
Evolution such as Moulds, in the form of cake hoops or pans used for forming cakes of all sizes have been used since at least the mid-17th century, bringing about the forms we recognise and love today.
During the 19th century, the chemical raising agent bicarbonate of soda, introduced in the 1840's, followed by baking powder (a dry mixture of bicarbonate of soda with a mild acid), replaced yeast making it less of a task. Another technology breakthrough of course was more accurate temperature controlled ovens. Today we enjoy a well-developed tradition of baking developed from these basic methods.
In other parts of the world western-style cakes have been adopted on a small scale, for example the small sponge cakes called kasutera in Japan. However, the ‘cakes', which are important in Asia, are quite different for example the mooncakes and rice cakes of the Philippines.
