According to the food historian Charles Perry, puff and sheet pastries appear to have been invented by the Arabs and the Turks respectively, sometime around 1500 Though the aim in both is to produce many layers of very thin pastry, they involve two very different techniques Making Puff Pastry Preparing puff pastry dough is elaborate and time consuming There are several different ways to construct the dough-fat sandwich, and several different ways to make the folds; here for simplicity I’ll describe the standard one The cook first mixes pastry flour with ice water to make a moderately moist initial dough, with about 50 parts water per 100 parts flour Sometimes butter and/or lemon juices are included to weaken the gluten and make the dough more easily shaped The mixing is done with minimal manipulation to minimize gluten development, which the later rollings- out accomplish The dough is shaped into a square Early Recipes for Laminated Pastry: Early English “Puff Paste” Gervase Markham’s recipe for “puff paste” is a cross between laminated and sheet pastries Now for the making of puff paste of the best kind, you shall take the finest wheat flour after it hath been a little baked in a pot in the oven, and blend it well with eggs, whites and yolks all together, after the paste is well kneaded, roll out a part thereof as thin as you please, and then spread cold sweet butter over the same, then upon the same butter roll another leaf of the paste as before; and spread it with butter also; and thus roll leaf upon leaf with butter between till it be as thick as you think good: and with it either cover ... together, after the paste is well kneaded, roll out a part thereof as thin as you please, and then spread cold sweet butter over the same, then upon the same butter roll another leaf of the paste... pastries Now for the making of puff paste of the best kind, you shall take the finest wheat flour after it hath been a little baked in a pot in the oven, and blend it well with eggs, whites and yolks... then upon the same butter roll another leaf of the paste as before; and spread it with butter also; and thus roll leaf upon leaf with butter between till it be as thick as you think good: and with it either cover