Cato the Elder, a Roman senator and historian, recorded the following recipe that resembles today”s baklava. (Note that “placenta” refers to all the thin pastry layers, and “tracta” is a mixture of cheese and honey.)
“Shape the placenta as follows: place a single row of tracta along the whole length of the base dough. This is then covered with the tracta mixture from the mortar. Place another row of tracta on top and go on doing so until all the cheese and honey have been used up. Finish with a layer of tracta. Place the placenta in the oven and put a preheated lid on top of it. When ready, honey is poured over the placenta.”
