In many parts of Europe they still use a sort of cake-bread or rolls instead of loaves; and in some parts of northern Germany and Russia the bread of the peasants is nearly black, and is so coarse and sour that few English people could eat it, especially as it is kept till it grows quite hard, and sometimes has to be cut with a saw.
The Eastern nations understood the use of ovens, however, and the Jews especially were very good Bakers, as were probably the Egyptians, for we read of Pharaoh’s Baker, whose dream Joseph interpreted. The trade of baking was held in very high esteem amongst the nations of antiquity, and included not only the making of bread, but of those cakes and sweetmeats of which all Oriental people, and some European people too, are so fond. By reading the history of the Jews and the Egyptians we learn that fermented or leavened bread was in common use amongst them, at a very early period of their history, so that the pulse-eating people, or the people of Europe who could only eat grain made into porridge, or simply cooked, were for a long time behind the Orientals in this respect. It was not till 600 years after the establishment of the Roman state that a public bakery was opened in Rome itself, and before this time, which was about 167 years before the birth of Christ, all the baking and bread making was done, amongst the rest of the family cooking, in the kitchens of private houses.
When the public bakeries were established, however, those who followed the trade were held in great respect, and a code of laws was made to regulate the manner in which their business should be conducted. The same importance was given to the trade in England, when Bakers first set up business in the large towns, and people began to buy their loaves instead of making them at home. The early statutes and laws place Bakers above mere handicraftsmen, and ranked them with gentlemen, and very severe punishments were inflicted on fraudulent Bakers, who neglected to mark their loaves so that “wheaten” bread might be distinguished from “household;” the same laws condemned that Baker to the pillory who gave short weight, even by so much as the fraction of an ounce, and the bakehouses were placed under the control of the magistrates.
There are many people who think that some such stringent laws might be usefully employed now, and there can be no doubt that the Baker has too many opportunities of adulterating his bread, or sending short weight: the first seriously injuring the health, and the second the pockets, of his customers. One of the worst features of the Baker’s trade in our time, however, is the dirty condition of the bakehouses and places where bread is made, the filthy habits which such places give rise to, and the very long hours during which journeymen Bakers are at work. All these matters have lately been made the subject of inquiry, and it may be hoped that they will be greatly improved.
Egg Whisk. Flour Basket and Scoop. Egg Brush.
Sieve. Brush. Rasp. Cleaning Net. Paste Cutter. Biscuit Marker. Knife. Iron Peel. Wooden Peel.
The tools that are used in most bakeries are, beside the oven, where the bread is baked, and the kneading trough, in which the dough is mixed: a seasoning tub for mixing other ingredients to be mingled with the dough, a wire sieve for sifting the flour, and a seasoning sieve made of tin pierced with small holes; a flour basket lined with tin, and a flour scoop, a pail, a bowl, a salt-bin, which should be near the oven, a yeast tub, a dough knife, scales and weights for weighing the dough before it is moulded into a loaf, a scraper for removing the dough from the trough and the board where the loaves are shaped, wooden and iron peels, a sort of shovels with long handles, for placing the bread in the oven or removing loaves, dishes and cakes, after they are baked, a rasp, like a coarse broad file with a bent handle, for rasping off any portion of burnt crust; a dusting brush for sweeping away refuse of flour or dust from the boards where the loaves are made or placed after baking, an egg whisk for beating eggs used in pastry, and an egg brush for putting a glazing of egg on the outside of buns or cakes, differently shaped tins or moulds for rolls or other articles of fancy bakery, coarse squares of baize or flannel for covering the dough or the newly-made bread, and a scuttle, swabber, or cleaning net, made of a quantity of rough netting fastened on the end of a pole, and which, after being wetted, is used for the final removal of all dirt from the oven just before “setting the batch,” or placing the loaves for baking. Beside these there are in most bakehouses set ups, or oblong pieces of beech wood, to be placed in the oven for the purpose of keeping the loaves in their places.
