Puff Pastry was invented in about 1645 by a French pastrycook's apprentice named Claudius Gele. At the end of his apprenticeship, Claudius wanted to bake a delicious loaf of bread for his sick father, who was prescribed a diet consisting of water, flour and butter. Claudius prepared a dough, packing the butter into it, kneading the dough out on the table, folding it, and repeating the procedure ten times, after which he moulded the dough into a loaf.
The pastrycook, who had watched the procedure, advised Claudius against baking the loaf as he thought the butter would run out of it. Nevertheless, the loaf was put in the oven, and as the loaf baked, both the pastrycook and Claudius were more and more surprised at the shape and the unusual size it attained.
Having finished his apprenticeship, Claudius left for Paris, where he found work at the Rosabau Patisserie. Here he completed his invention, which won the shop an enormous fortune and name. Claudius later went to Florence, where he worked in the Brothers Mosca's pastry shop. The brothers Mosca reaped the honour of having invented the Puff Pastry, although Claudius kept his secret to himself and always prepared his pastries in a locked room.
