School: Cratloe (C.)

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1. Bread-Making in Olden Times (continued)

   

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   their own flour. They sell their grain to the millers and they in turn make the flour and sell it in tons or larger quantities to the shopkeepers who in turn sell it to the bakeries or householders.
   In olden times there were no such things as ranges or ovens as bakeries have now. When the batter was made the bread was rolled out in pieces called cakes and in the centre of these cakesa cross was cut with the knife. There was an old superstition that the cake would rise and bake better if the cross was made, but the real reason was that the opening made allowed the steam of the baking to come through and in this way the cake would cook better and be higher when done.
   The cake was then put into what was called an oven. This oven was a round pot made of iron about six inches high. Then a firmly fitting cover for this oven was heated over the fire which consisted principally of sticks and turf. When the cover was very hot but not red there was an iron called a brand, this brand was set by the side of the fire and a small quantity of cíaráns or small pieces of turf put underneath. The oven was placed firmly

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)
         1. bread (~2,063)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Helen Punch

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cratloemoyle, Co. Clare

   Informant

   Mrs J. Punch

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cratloemoyle, Co. Clare