can be devoted to the varieties of bakers’ goods The Middle Ages During the European Middle Ages, bakers were specialists, producing either common brown or luxurious white bread It wasn’t until the 17th century that improvements in milling and in per capita income led to the wide availability of more or less white bread and the dissolution of the brown guild as a separate body In northern areas, rye, barley, and oats were more common than wheat and were made into coarse, heavy breads One use of flat bread at this time was the “trencher,” a dense, dry, thick slice that served as a plate at medieval meals and then was either eaten or given away to the poor And pastry was often made to serve as a kind of all-purpose cooking and storage container, a protective and edible wrapping for meat dishes in particular Four stages in the evolution of machines for grinding grain Clockwise from upper left: The saddlestone and lever mill were limited by their back-and-forth motion The hourglass mill, which could be turned continuously in one direction by man or animal, was widely used by Roman times Flat millstones finally made it possible to harness more elemental forces, and were put to use in water and wind mills In the modern industrial world, most grain is milled between grooved metal rollers, but some is still stone-ground Early Modern Times The late medieval period and Renaissance brought notable progress in the art of enriched breads; both puff pastry and choux pastry date ... the evolution of machines for grinding grain Clockwise from upper left: The saddlestone and lever mill were limited by their back -and- forth motion The hourglass mill, which could be turned continuously... in one direction by man or animal, was widely used by Roman times Flat millstones finally made it possible to harness more elemental forces, and were put to use in water and wind mills In the. .. grain is milled between grooved metal rollers, but some is still stone-ground Early Modern Times The late medieval period and Renaissance brought notable progress in the art of enriched breads; both puff pastry and choux pastry date