Evening journal., 1888-11-20
A CRACKER BAKERY.
AN EXTENSIVE BRANCH OF THE
STEAM BAKlNn BUSINESS.

STEAM eAKlNn BUSINESS.
Mixing the Dough-worI of the Dough
Presser-shoveling tho Batch Into the
Reel Oven-Coolsing the CracherS-racls-
ing-Preparing Cakes, Etc.
The first step in the manufacture Of crack
ers, which is by far the most extensive branch
Of the steam baking business. is to NIX the
dough. A half barrel or SO Of flour is dumped
into wooden vat and lard, yeast, salt and
possibly one or two other ingredients to vary
the grade Of the manufactured product, are
mixed with the mass. Several buckets OF
water are thrown in, and white aproned
kneader, with a square canvas bakers cap on
his head, rolls up his sleeves to the arnlpits
and pitches in. When he has aritated the
mass sufficiently it is allowed to stand over
night and "rise.n Not only one. but a num-
Der of watts are filed with embryonic crack
ers and left to ferment in tho same way.
In the morning the hands come to work at
8 o'clock and begin the task Of the day. The
dough is exhumed in masses from the depths
Of the receptaeles and flung down chute to
lower floor The dough presser, machine
whose name expresses its use, absorbs the
sticky mass into its great iron jaws and rolls
it out into cakes about an inch thick by
forcing it through an elongated aperture Of
the required diameter. It is now ready for
tho cutter. which machine divides tho dough
into squares Of proper dimensions ready
for baking.
The process Of division is very simple The
dough is forced under a roller, which presses
it to the proper thickness and runs 1t under
a stamper worked by steam. The stamper
cuts the fiat cake into squares and dents the
surface with a number OF little depressions.
The firm name Of tbs proprietors Of the
factory is also stamped upon the top. The
thin ribbons Of surplus dough which run
along the margin Of the batch are removed
by the hands Of two small boys who occupy
seats by the machine.
The next process is TO shovel it into the
oven. The reel oven is the variety most used
for baking crackers which are considered a
comparatively coarse product. An immense
pair Of wheels connected by transverse bars
OF iron are suspended over a seething brick
furnace in such manner as to be- easily re-
volved by the hand Of an operator. A num-
Der Of huge fiat sheets Of iron are suspended
from the transverse rods somewhat after the
fashion Of a scale pan hanging from = beams
end. One of the sheets is kept constantly at
the mouth OF tho aperture in the side of the
oven where the unbaked crackers are to be
put in for baking.
COOKING THE CRACKERS.
An operator with a large, thin wooden
shovel runs the fiat blade under a section Of
the cut and pressed dough, and placing it
upon the iron sheet, suddenly withdraws it.
This process is repeated until the sheet is
filed, when turn Of tho wheel shoots it out
over the heated Goals in tho furnace, and at
the same time brings the next sheet, whose
freight has been cooking for some time and
is now entirely done before the mouth Of the
orifce. A huge wooden rake operated by
hand, pulls the crackers on into tho baskets.
where the force of the fall breaks the thin
strips of brittle bread which bind them to-
gether, and they are full hedged, ready baked
crackers
If The crackers were packed into boxes i'm
mediately after being raked from the oven.
they would sweat and retain an enlarged
thickness given them by the excessive heat
So they are dumped upon large, fiat counters
to dry before they are put into tho labeled
boxes or barrels in which they are sold. This
is the usual process employed in the manu-
facture Of crackers In some OF the larger
factories they are raked on when cooled into
troughs with sliding bottoms, which empty
them into ehutes BY which they ara conveyed
up or down stairs. Nearly all OF the reel
ovens have the same capacity Twelve fat
sheets are the usual complement, and each
sheet is just large enough TO contain six rows
Of seventy-two crackers each. Each row is a
spadeful. Each oven, therefore, contains
1,5S4 crackers baking at one time Fhs large
houses have from three to five ovens. II
these ovens are operated, the number baking
at one time would be 5,T5a
The finest grades Of cakes, such as rnaca-
rooms, citron, cream and jelly rolls, are too
delicate to be trusted always to reel ovens.
and In many factories arc baked In the old
fashioned Dutch affairs, which impart such
delicious favor to the cooking Of our grand
mothers. The methods OF preparing these
cakes differ widely. Chocolate icing is put
on by dropping the cake upon its fat surface
into bucket Of liquid chocolate and scrap
ing or the surplus from the edges With a
knife. Stampers Of proper design will i'm
print upon dough almost any variety Of de-
vice. Horsecakes, SO dear to the heart Of
the rural urchin, are cut out in large mum
bers from molasses dough BY number Of
stamps operated at once. The devices re-
sorted TO in the manufacture Of tho almost
numberless grades of cakes and crackers
which are turned out by first class factory
arc Of endless Observation-Disclosures Herald