The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1918-11-12
BAKING BREAD
IN FRANCE FOR
YANKEE SOLDIERS
All the Work Is Done on a
Huge Scale by Expert
Cooks
LOAF ONLY WEIGHS
TWELVE POUNDS
Foreigners Amazed at the
Efficiency of the
System

American Advance Zone, France,
Oct. 21.-iCorrespondence of the As
sociated Tless) Bread for the Yam
kee soldier in France is baked, not in
the dainty one-pound loaves that are
used at home, but in loaves that
weigh twelve pounds each. They are
so big as tc be inconvenient and the
size now Is being changed to uni
form square loaf of four pounds.
All the baking is on a huge scale.
Asked for the recipe by which Amer
lean bread has attained its superior
ity among all the Allied armies, the
chief baker gave it as follows:
Flour, l6c pounds; sugar, salt,
yeast, lard and water, SIS pounds; to-
tai PIG poDnds He did not define
the amour, of the various ingredi-
ents, possibly from fear of giving in
formation K the bakers of the Ger
man army.
The huge quantities of dough al
ways on hand aging" or rising under
the influence of the yeast look like a
giant battery of snoWballs. Each
dough is 4 huge mass weighing 480
pounds which two men handle with
dexterity. Over it the soldiers bend.
naked TO the waist, kneading and mix
ing Then the huge mass rolls along
to the next table, where it is drawn
/ to-1ohg thick strings, which the sol
diers dcftly chop off in 12-pound
loaves, never varying an ounce, ready
for the ovens.
! There is but one standard of army
bread, for officers and men alike, and
General Iershing eats exactly the
same kind ct a four-pound loaf as the
soldier in the ranks. In fact, the
j American Amy bread is so superior
to the civilian bread commonly on
sale in France that it is regarded as
great luxury, officers and men are
besiegcd by civilians to get them
some Of the fine, white American
/ bread, al American officers at hotels
are the envy of other guests for the
army bre&d they are able to get:
! 1t was suggested to the head baker
! that tradition gave women the first
place as bread makers, and he was
asked if women could not be utilized
/ in making this army bread, thus re-
lieving 20GG men for service on the
fighting lines.
"Womcn wouldn't last one day in
this Kind Of hard work" he said
'This is bread making by the ton, and
by millions Of loaves, and it takes
physical strength to handle the hugs
quantities OF material. 1t would be
impossible for women and it is the
hardest kind of work for men,"
At the ovens a baking had just
started. There are seven of thess
bakings each day, and seven each
night, for the work goes on night anc
day, with two shifts of men, one go
ing at d. N. and the other at 6 p
m. There are 20 companies, ant
each company of 100 men has II
ovens. Each baking takes about al
hour and IS minutes, which yields al
average of 1k bakings through the 2
hours.
Thousands of loaves of hot bread
fresh fro12: the ovens, were being
j stacked ill the tent warehouses, wher'
for two days the bread is allowed tt
cool, dry, and season, before beinl
shipped to the front. Hot bread
the escort explained, cannot be ship
ped as it steams in the cars and be
gins to get musty and mouldy. Their
has been some complaint of this from
. the front of late, due to shipping th
bread soon after baking so the sol
: diers could have it crisp and fresh
and so the regulation has been fxex
of holding it two days before ship
ment.
1t is j huge process, this brea
; making for whole army and like a
t the American undertakings, it is a
: object O. admiration and wonder t
: the foreigners for the smoothness an
D perfection with which the giganti
field establishment is carried on.
f Allies the German command must II
4 veal all mines. polluted springs, well
n and stores CT food for civilian populs