The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-12-11
BIG PIE FACTORIES.
METHODS BY WHICH THEY HANDLE
THEIR IMMENSE PRODUCT.
Ten to Fifteen Thousand Pies Made
and Baked In "a NiShf-The Crusts,
the Filling and the FrosfinE-Abso-
lutte Cleanliness In the shops.

the Filling and the Frosfing-Abso-
lutte Cleanliness In the shops.
A visit to one of the largest pie con-
s.ructinG plants in a city would make
the average housewife who prides her
self in her baking green with envy
The maker OF old fashioned domestic
pies cannot easily conceive of system
by which IL barrel of apples and bar
rel of -four can. figuratively speaking,
start at one end of long bench and
leave the other end a thousand or less
finished pies, but this system is in use
in all the large pie bakeries.
The baking force goes on duty at 10 =
o'clock at night. During the day girls
have been pairing and slicing apples
and pumpkins. and the foreman has
been splicing and sweetening the cook
cd fruit or mince. the custards and
other prepared Gllins which have also
been cooked by steam in large stone
stew watts. When the bakers 20 on
duty the filling is in place in front Of
the great dough board in tubs holding
half barrel each. and the stewed ap-
pies i'm full sized barrels. At one end
of the bench is Il great stack of -four.
near which stands pail of water into
which a saucer of baking powder has
been dumped. The dough mixer at
tacks this heap and makes in il deep
depression. into which the water is
poured. The embaukment of -four is
rapidly turned into the water and
stirred with the hands until Il thick.
pasty dough has been formed. This is
showed along until tall heap is FORM
cd at the mixers right. and the knead-
er. spry young fellow. working with
an instrument resembling a plasterer's
trowel. cuts OF large MASSES and rolls
them until the mixing is completed
| and then chops them into chunks of
suitable sizes for forming bottom crusts.
| The men beyond roll the bottom crusts
and place them in the pans. which are
| arranged in large wooden trays heap
| ed one upon another in stacks as tall
as man. The stacks of trays are then
hauled TO the filler by means of a hook
inserted in ring in the truck at the
| bottom.
| The pies, whether 10000 or 5000 a
night are baked, are all filed by one
man. With long handled cup similar
to that used in dipping milk from a
| can he stands over a tub of stewed
pumpkin. mince or custard and fills
pies so rapidly that all of one mans
time is required to bring the trays to
his side and thas of another TO take
/ them away. He works like an autom-
atom. Il filed pie resulting from every
drop and rise of his two hands. Nearly
| hundred pies a minute look like an
impossibilily. brt he sends them TO the
| men who put on the top crusts and the
meringues at that rate for many min
utes at a stretch He has. by actual
test. put half Il barrel of mince meat
into pies within ten minutes.
The filed pies go into the big wooden
trays TO the men who cover them with
the top crust or who put the meringne
on with conical shaped canvas bag
open mt the smaller end. out of which
they squeeze the frosting on the fancy
pies. The fancy pies and the plain
ones do not come together again until
they meet in the delivery wagon about
5 O'Clock in the morning
| The Top crust pies 20 TO the draw
plate ovens and the pumpkins. Gus
tards. meringues and tarts to the older
Fashioned ovens, where they are ham
died with long. slender sbovels. Out
of the larger drawplate oven is pulled
with steel hook plate of iron half an
inch thick or more already heated. The
thermometer in front of the oven shows
a temperature of 800 degrees. As
many pies as will lie on this plate
| about 100 at a time-are placed on II
and II IS pushed into the oven. The
hands of a dummy clock at the side are
set to Indicate the moment at which the
baking will be finished. Another plate
Is then drawn out and filed. and the
proceeding is repeated until the night:
work is finished. The pies. after baking
go into wooden trays. as before. an6
are taken TO the shipping room. where
they are counted and loaded into ths
wagons for delivery.
About forty girls. boys and men by
this system produce from 10000 to 10.
600 pies a day. They use about fifteeI
barrels of -four. six to ten barrels o
apples. nine or ten half barrels ol
mince meat. nearly as much stewet
pumpkin and perhaps half as muci
each of other fruits understands. bar
rel or more of lard. about two barrel
of sugar and large quantities of spices
Contrary 10 all popular notions ol
| the subject the wholesale manufactur
! of pies in modern establishment !
| thoroughly cleanly Workmen are no
| allowed to enter the work rooms i
| their street attire or TO change thei
| clothing there. The use of tobacco a
. | all stages of the work is prohibited
| Splitting on the floor or on or into any
| thing else in the work rooms is ey
pressly and emphatically forbidden
| The walls are white. and the floors o
concrete are dustlcss. Every scrap o
anything that can sour is daily washe
| from the vessels used for filling. frol
: the cooking watts. from the trays an
from the benches. and they are all stel
, ilized with steam or boiling water
, The shortening sweetening and spi,
! ing are carefully and accurately weigl
ed in exact proportions. The bakin
/ is timed TO ? constant temperature. S
> that there iS absolute uniformity. an
, all the mixing AMI havoring. Will
> done on II large scale. are 50 conducte
4 as TO insure a uniform quality.-Ne'