Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-06
A CRACKER BAKERY.
AN EXTENSIVE BRANCH OF THE
STEAM BAKING BUSINESS.

Mixing the Dough-Work of the Dough
Presser-Shoveling the Batch Into the
Reel Overlooking the Crackers-Pack-
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 mix the
dough. A half barrel or so of -four is dumped
into wooden vat and lard, yeast, salt and
possibly one or two other ingredients 10 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 armpits
and pitches in. When he has agftated the
mass sufficiently it is allowed to stand over
night and rise" Not only one, but num-
Der of watts are filed with embryonic crack
ers and left to ferment in the same way
In the morning the hands come to work at
so'clock and begin the task of the day. The
dough is exhumed in masses from the depths
of the receptacles and flung down chute to
lower floor. The dough presser, machine
whose name expresses its use, absorbs the
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it out into cakes about an inch thick by
forcing it through an elongated aperture Of
the required diameter. 1t is now ready for
the cutter, which machine divides the dough
into squares of proper dimensions ready
for baking.
The process of division is very simple. The
dough is forced under 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 the 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 1t into the
oven. The reel oven is the variety most used
for baking crackers, which are considered {
comparatively coarse product. An immens,
| pair of wheels connected by transverse bar
of iron are suspended over a seething bricl
furnace in such manner as TO be easily re
| volved by the hand of an operator. A mum
Der of huge flat sheets Of iron are suspended
! from the transverse rods somewhat after tn,
fashion of a scale pan hanging from BEAM
end One of the sheets is kept constantly a
the mouth of the aperture in the side of tn
oven where the unbaked crackers are to b
put in for baking.
COOKING THE CRACKERS.
An operator with large, thin woode
shovel runs the fiat blade under section o
the cut and pressed dough, and placing
upon the iron Sheet suddenly withdraws il
This process is repeated until the sheet
: filed, when a turn Of the wheel shoots it ou
over the heated Goals in the furnace, and a
the same time brings the next sheet, who's
freight has been cooking for some time an
is now entirely done before the mouth of th
oriice. huge wooden rake. operated
hand, pulls the crackers off into the basket
where the force of the fall breaks the thi
strips of brittle bread which bind them t.
gether, and they are full fiedged, ready bake
crackers.
If the crackers were packed into boxes in
mediately after being raked from the ovei
they would sweat" and retain an enlarge
= thickness given them by the excessive hea
So they are dumped upon large, fat counte
! TO dry before they are put into the labele
e boxes or barrels i'll which they are sold. tn
b is the usual process employed in the man
Z facture of crackers In some of the large
n factories they are raked off when cooled I'M
i troughs with sliding bottoms, which ernpi
f.. them into chutes by which they are conveyt
up or down stairs Nearly all of the re
ovens have the same capacity. Twelve fl
!, sheets are the usual complement, and eat
sheet is just large enough to contain six ROY
Of seventy-two crackers each. Each row is
spadeful Each oven, therefore, contai
= I,5S4 crackers baking at one time. The lar
houses have from three to FIVE ovens
these ovens are operated, the number bakil
at one time would be $3.50.
The finest grades of cakes, such as mac
rooms, citron, cream and jelly rolls, are t
delicate to be trusted always to reel over
and in many factories are baked In the O
fashioned Dutch affairs which impart 81
a delicious flavor to the cooking Of our gran
mothers The methods of preparing the
:, cakes differ widely. Chocolate icing Is p
on by dropping the cake upon its fiat surfa
into bucket of liquid chocolate and scra
ing off the surplus from the edges with
knife. Stampers of proper design will Il
print upon dough almost any variety OF {
vice, Horsecakes, so dear to the heart
the rural urchin, are cut out In large nu
bers from molasses dough by number
stamps operated at once. The devices
sorted to in the manufacture of the aim
numberless grades of cakes and crack
which are turned out by first elias, fscto
areof endless variety.-Baltimore Herald.