The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1895-03-26
STAFF OF LIFE.
SEVEN HOURS REQUIRED TO
MAKE BAKERS BREAD.
Iron Knuclklcs and Steam Arms
hnead the DouSh-It's u Trick
of the Trade to Pat
the Loaves.
BOUT seven hours are re

ovenman draws the steamin2, brown.
crusted, understanding loaves from
the revolving furnace; three hours in
the sponge, three hours as dough in
| the troughs, half an hour in working
the dough and half an hour In the
oven. OF course, the work is carried
on in wholesale way, several hun
! dred loaves being in the same oven at
| the same time, and large patches OF
| sponge and dough being worked by
means of machinery-for in the large
bakeries, which make from 5000
600 day, iron knuckles and steam
arms knead tho dough, aud several
barrels Of flour are dumped into the
mixer" to make n single "sponge. "
The flour used by bread bakers comes
in sacks, about 10 pounds to the
sack, SO that seven sacks equal five
barrels of flour. For plain, white
bread most bakers use two "patent"
Hours, one selected for its white color
aud the other for its strength in the
dough, and they always select hours
which will absorb the most water, rs
the loaves will weigh more, the bread
will DE moro tender and the dough
will require less shortening.
Although some bakers still cling t.
old-fnshioned potato yeast, most OF
them use compressed yeast, which is
dissolved in scalding water aud poured
into the tinker" with enough flour
to make n thin, pasty mixture. This
Is left in the mixer for two or three
hours to work" or ferment, an |
when the fermentation is good the
"sponge" is ready to be made into
dough. The "sponger" first puts salt
in the sponge, then milk, lard aud
sugar, and finally enough flour to
make n good, stiff dough. The flour
is first passed through a, sitter, which
takes out all the Jumps. The tinker"
is semi-cylindrical trough about four
feet long, in which is shaft having
/ scythe-like iron arms running spirally
around it, and this mixer becomes II
''kneading" machine when the dough
is made up, and tho sponger shifts the
belt to the tight pulley. The iron
arms revolve in the trough, working
the dough over and over, kneading il
thoroughly. The sponger, with II
thick-bladed knife, stands over the
machine and slices the dough from
the iron arms as they drag through
the mass, thus helping the machine to
work every particle of dough-
After the dough is well kneaded it
is sliced out of the trough and from
the arms of the knealer, aud put in
deep wooden troughs where it is kept
covered up for two or three hours
The foreman keeps an eye on the
dough, and when it pufIs up in "rals-
ing he speaks to n couple of work
men who remove the lid, and then,
side by side, move down the trough
plunging their bare arms into the gas.
filled dough, beating it down again.
This takes muscle, and although n
baker may look thin his arms are as
hard as steel, and his muscles stand
out like whipcords rs he drives his
fists into the dough and lifts the
heavy mass up from the side of the
trough. When tbs men are through,
the dough is once more at the bottom
of the trough, and the upper skin is
smooth and unbroken, so that the
gases will have another chance to bal
loon the dough. The fermentation is
hastened or held in check by keeping
the lid on OF taking it from the trough,
and while the dough is in the trough
no outside mir currents are permitted
to strike it, for if cool draught wan
ders along and touches the dough the
bread will be white-spotted.
When the dough has been in the
trough the proper length of time it is
taken out aud thrown on the bench.
A small pair of platform scales stands
on the bench, and one of the bench
men with chopping-k not unlike
n hash-chOpper cuts out a batch of
dough and weighs off fifteen md n
half pounds. This batch is placed in
| dividing" machine, steam press,
I which forces number of cutting
edges up through the dough dividing
it into twelve equal parts. These are
torn apart and tossed upon the bench
| TO be sized by the benchmen, each of
whom takes two pieces and quickly
/ kuends, molds and pats them into
round loavos with that peculiar knack
which is n trick of the trade. The
balls of dough, with the scam down.
are placed in proving" boxes.
wooden trays, about five feet long,
three feet wide, with sides four inches
high. a dozen loaves are put in each
box, so separated that when they
swell mp they will not touch each
other. The proving boxes, with the
/ dough balls In them, arc piled up,
one on the other, and by the time the
batch of dough is all worked mp and
| put In the proving boxes the loavos
which wero laid away first are
/ proved, or have risen enough TO be
/ worked again. They are thrownupou
/ tho bench and the benchmen slam
| them down upon tho -four coated
| boards, ~ knock the wind out oil
them, and then each individual batch
/ of dough is nicely nodded into neat
loaves and placed in the pans, which
nre nine inches long, four and one
half inchos high an four and ono
half inches wide. The pans are laid
i'm boxes similar to the proving boxes.
which are piled up, one on the other.
TO get more proof" aud then they
are re0dy for the oven.
The ordinary oven is about sixteen
feet IN diameter and is circular in
I nhwRn I-ll.-