New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-11-02
THE BAKERIES OF NEW-YoRK.


USED AS BAKERIES
There are nearly 1.2OO bakeries in New
York City. A few conducted in On admirable way
with large airy where every attention is PAID 70
cleanliness on the part OF employees and their surround
ings. These found in fashionable quarters where
patronage from the mOneyed classes and the
receipts are large. The average bakery however, Ia
found in small basement, rather cellar, whose only
outlet for the fumes OF the oven the breath of the men
and other exhaa;Ons Of the place found in narrow
doorway leading the street In some bakeries IN the
city, particularly the extreme East and West sides
the casual visitor will be shocked by the filth which no
all about him. Bakers, a rule, are not wealthy
class and their hours very long little precious
time wasted a rule ia attention to such matters aa
cleanliness and ventilation The foul odOrs that are
penned up IN close and cramped cellar and the flying
particles Of dust arising from floor that is seldom
swept mpart quality to the bread sold over the coun-
ter the morning that s not always traced to It's
cause and which cannot NIL TO have bad effect upon
its consumers Then again bakers begin their work late
al night II o'clock and knead and bake until
four or five in the morning. At these hours few people
are passing streets and IL likely TO drop in
and watch the familiar processes Of breadmaking This
from inspection also tends to make the average
baker careless.
In order to note whether the bakeries Of New-York
vey conducted those OF London were recently
shown to be- TRIBUNE reporter started out on tour
OF Investigation a few days ago. First however, he
visited a fashionable bakery In Broadway one OF the
largest the country in order TO note how the indus
try conducted under the best system This baker has
been in the business forty years and his Oaves 90 10
Del1nonicos. the Brunswick and Hoffman Hotels and
1000 families of New-YorlL Sixteen wagons are Kept
busy every morning Of 30 per cent OF total ex
penses for delivery The bakery below the level OF
the sidewalk and Is 100 feet long and go feet wide The
system OF ventilation perfect while the furnaces
full activity pleasant breeze blows through the
room. The OF men employed in the various pro-
of baking clad In white gauze, or merino ana
are pictures OF No OF tobacco is tolerated
here. The floor IL bright a new pin. As the men
knead the dough in the huge troughs containing mate
rial 400 oaves, weigh in neatoong scales TO the
pound and a-ha and then pass into the big ovens
feet square there IL nothing that indicates negh
gence OF unceanliness. The dough is kneaded by men
nude the waist for the ovens the heat is oppres
sve despite the ventilation two-hundred horse pow
er engine furnishes the steam machine to beat 200
eggs in 20 minutes big yeast vats bins OF -four aud hills
Of bread are some Of the interesting features OF the
room.
The proprietor, portly, genial old man, gave the
following points 10 the reporter Bakers don't make
much money as a rule. they cheap -four. You
nav know that -four may be bought anywhere from 50
TO SIC barrel The finest get from Minnesota II Ia
made on the Hungarian principle by steel rollers, not by
grinding between stones The gluten makes handsome
bread We bake TOR the cub-houses and large restau-
rants in the evening There other large bakeries in
the city that supply the groceries They make what Is
called domestic bread There is very large bakery OF
that kind in Williamsburg II Is cheap and good Fine
bread bought mainly by large families Do You know
how 10 tell good American bread 1t has pile on IT,
See this loaf You can pull II pieces by tearing ii of
In shreds This French bread lie all crust. You can
through IT, 1t Is light. These rolls made with milk
and egg volks are called Kaiser rolls. They are very
popular in Vienna. and, you are very light and
white The English muffin, which is so very white,
must be made OF beautiful -four These shp-bread
loaves three long. going Cunard steamship
tomorrow They are baked hard the day before ship
ment AS the -four used contains much gluten this alb
serbs moisture from the air. and the bread quito
fre after being four or five days. In fact, this
kind OF bread has kept fresh until the return voyage
Flour that has been ground six months is needed for
Vienna bread New -four soft and has no spring Our
men begin work at p m. and are through at m in
the basement The out at four or five in the
morning The do not sleep on the premises as in
the smaller bakeries where they work sixteen and
eighteen hours a day.
II was l o'clock in the morning when the reporter
started out on the East side. strOlng up AvenueB,
nib u a. dark and cherries a. the sky lowering
and lamps we're few, a bright light shoue out from
basement between Tenth and Eegenthsts, aud he dove
s ~ sren. Tine room was perhaps thirty feet long
and a dozen feet wide. The ceiling was about seven feet
high. Two men and a boy were punching the dough or
showing oaves the at the further end OF the
roo1v Bug, crawled the floor in unpleasant prOX
inirv 70 The freshly kneaded loaves Near them was
harrel Of ashes that light breeze lifted times dig
rsd in the air and caused to settle on the bread.
old time broom hard by, nut nad not apparently
pesn nsed on the floor that morning The air close
and impure and what little breeze came IN served rather
TO agate the ashes than to remove the unpleasant doors
IN AvenneA bakery, which also visited, is I'M
inviting place for nice eater. Two or three
hni tbs regard for cleanliness is not Of the
best oven and watering it to make ii swell up Near his
early civilization On IT, half covered with old and dirty
oiitLs and raos was n wooden bread mOulder."
binb had been used apparently only short time be-
Tore in kneading dough The object OF the reporters
visit was mol Hi.hs hII"H ~ no dd ,n and Tas
Iie d and SET cn up for the boys" This invitation
was kindly extended 10 him at most OF the bakeries
few blocks above mongrcl cur guarded the en-
trance 10 bakery he sat near pile OF loaves and
broke the monoony Of his vigil by searching for ieaS
rben he would wave his dirty tail over the bread and
Inol y, The repofter missed bfs chance to
While a workman was kncading pile of dough at a
bakery in Fst-ave.. he pulled away vigorously on an
Old ciav pipe. He not even pertaining the bread
with good tobacco Occasionally he would remove the
pioe with dough-coyered hand 10 project charge OF
saliva against a buseye on the floor and then resume
work The hand that had lIst hea the airty PIP wa"
plunged into the dough Without the Interruption OF
towels or water As the reporter he'd an uniignGo
cigar in his hand he was invited 10 lght up ana lahs
himself comfortable. 4 few feet nom the pile OF
dough was a tub Of slops that emitted foul doors a
barrel NJ ashes, and cat that was evidently NOT hV
quained with the neighborng cutters proved arolnd
and shook hairs and parasites from her impoversnea
body All these Nth producers were near trough OF
dough which the young man said would - make oreau
for % health company of this city
Other bakeries visited on the East side ana me
majority found 10 be small poorly ventilated base
ments. All. however. were not repusve from ART anu
vermin. but too many were 70 afford comfort 10
the average patron Of those places. 49,
The sumo story may be- told Of the West side OF INC
city Here the German element Is very large. Many
OF these bakers make small profits. which are cerl~
not expended on their workshops except 40 TAR as Is
absolutely Necessary Cheap rent is the first point WIN
hei ana so long as the stun sells, customers 10 To-
know whether the bread they eat Is made In pnTe'
wholesome atmosphere, free from dirt. not.
II small basement which the reporter fOunu
in Ninth ave, between Twenty third and Twenty
f0urth-a-., and the close air almost intOerabe
There only man az while he kneadcd a
batch OF dough he amused himself by smoking cigar
cites. Smoke and ashes mingled with the dough while