Long ago people had very difficult means of baking bread compared to nowadays. The oldest method of baking we hear tell of nowadays is baking on a slate. This was done by getting two slates and a block of timber which was called a stand by most people. One slate was left lying flat on the ground and the other was put on an incline, or slant, with the block of timber at the back to keep it from falling.
They usually left the slate by the fire while they were making the bread so that it would be heated before they put the cake on it.
Then the cake which was usually an oaten one was left on the slate to bake.
When making oaten bread they generally used water in the mixture.
This bread was always flat, hard and tough and did not slip off the slate when put on it.
The next method of baking we hear