CAMP BAKERY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2767, 10 May 1916, Page 6

CAMP BAKERY

NEW ENTERPRISE AT TRENTHAM

3000 LOAVES A DAY

A camp enterprise which has been in preparation for-five months came into lull, operation. at Trentham yesterday, when the work pf baking' the' whole of -the bread required by the camp was undertaken by the camp bakery. In December last, at the' suggestion of Major Wright, Director of Transport'and Supplies, a field bread-baking equipment was laid down in'what is now tho engineers' parade grou,ud. Staff-Sergt. Instructor Weldon was placed in charge, and in the time that has intervened the. daily quantity, of bread baked rose till it totalled about 600 loaves. Yesterday the bakers undertook the taslj. of providing 6000 Tatiohs, that is, 3000 loaves of bread per day. This means that &11 the bread used in the camp will be baked at the new. bakery. At present the bakery consists or a wooden bakehouse, a large marquee where the baked bread is stored, and eleven army ovens in which the bread is baked.. These look like halves of wide drainpipes, set in a bank of earth. Kacu oven consists of a sheet of Jin. iron, bent to a semi-cirole about 3ft. in diameter at its widest part. Eleven of these, wereranged in a row with edges nearly, touching, and between them and on top of them clay and earth were, rammed,, the whole of the work being done by the bakers. The back of each oven is closed and earthed up, and at the front is a movable door, which can.be taken right out.. ■ ..

"When a Dominion reporter visited the .bakery yesterday' morning the first batch, or run, of loaves' had been baked, and stacked in racks in the marquee. Wood fires were.blazing in6ide the open 'ovens, and the heat in front of them was intense. In the bakehouse, the bakers were converting a. mass of dough, lying on the table, into loaves. Two men cut lumps of dough, which .were : weighed, and then seized' by other men who .rapidly rolled them into smooth loaves. This Work was done with much, dexterity, the bakers rolling two loaves at a time, one with each hand. v ,'•■'■_. The loaves were placed in-iron trays, holding six loaves each, and placed on a shelf, where another man rapidly marked with a knife a cross on the crown of each loaf, so that in rising it would break symmetrically. Every tray held six loaves, and nine trays were contained'in each oven, making D9l loaves as the result of one baking in eleven ovens. The bread takes about an hour to bake, and there are five Tuns or bakings every day, exoopt on Sundays. ■ During the week a little extra is baked each- day so that the men may have Sunday off. As it is, they will work froni 12 to. 14 houre a day during the week. There are five permanent bakem, and five men.from.the Reinforcements in camp. The. latter teceive their training, and leave with their draft, as qualified bakers of army bread and bvildeiv of army dvens. A f disqualified section of eight men can put up eight ovens in .three hours. : The man in charge of i the fires began to draw them. Smoking wood-embers wore raked out on a long-handled shovel, and cavried a little distance away. When olj the ovens had been cleared, except for some hot ashes on their floors, a baker' walked along the treach, which runs a, foot away from.the ovens. With his hand held at tho openings' he tested their heat. It was about right. So the trays of loaves were carried out and spooned, on a big flat 6poon, into tho ovens. The semi-circular dours were placed in position and plugged up with clay,, so that no chink remained through which the steam from tho baking could escape. When nil ware closed, the mnster baker said: "They'll be opened again in 50 minutes." At the end of that time, the first door was opened. A cloud of steam rushed out, and rose like a mist; the same thing occurred at the opening of each door. Inside were trays of beautiful loaves, crisply browned on their tops, which had split and crumpled where tho knife had cut the crosses. With gloves made''of sacking, the men passed the trays along to the marquee, where the loaves, in batches of six, Were stacked. And almost before the last loaf was out, tho fire-lighter was* spreading his chips and wood in tho ovens to heat them again. The embers from the former burning soon set tl« wood ablaze. In tho bakehouse, the bakers, having cleaned and greased their tins, were cutting up, weighing, and shaping loaves for another batch.

This camp bread is made of (lour, salt, and yeast, and it is very popular with officers and men. Its taste is right, and it is neither too dry nor ton doughy. Two men are engaged on dough-making, working at night and sleeping during the day. This leaves seven men and tho master baker for day work. When the bakery is completed, it will be up-to-date in all respects, including an asphalted space between tho ovens and the bakehouso and store room. These improvements will bo speedily effected. As it is, tho task of baking 3000 loaves is being accomplished, and everyone inthe camp, from the Commandant down to the latest recruit, takes a prido in tho now enterprise; and enjoys the wholesome .bread turned out by it.