Home Baked
Stand:
My favourite bread: ¨Home-baked¨
Rafael Martos |
Ricardo Altamirano |
Why is it called home-baked? Generally this is because in years gone by it was made by hand in the home, although actually nowadays it is made in industrial bread factories.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the women, who were good managers, having very few economic resources, had to make the bread at home, with the wheat which their husbands had collected in the fields.
The wheat was taken to a stone mill, the same as in other countries, with a fixed stone, over which turned a grindstone. This was turned by the force of a water mill, grinding the wheat into flour.
These mills were presided over by families, who were paid with a portion of the flour, in proportion to the amount of wheat milled, measured for each 4 and a half litres, for every 55 and a half litres of wheat.
Method:Firstly the flour is separated from the husk, using a very simple device, formed by two parallet tables, separated by two others, each with two holes, where the first two are placed. This apparatus, along with some sieves where they put the smaller sieve which is made from very fine material, which is used to separate the finer piece from the heavier husk. This apparatus was given to the housewife along with a kneading trough which enabled her to make the bread.
With these, yeast, milled wheat, sieves, kneading troughs and an oven, the housewifes could bake the bread.
What is the recipe for bread? It is very simple and it is always very evocative to remember these days in the bosom of the family, when our mothers made bread.
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