School: Baile Stiabhna, Askeaton (roll number 7900)

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1. Bread

   

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   In former times bread was made from ground wheat, barley, and oats also from Oaten and Indian meal, and bran. The dry ingredients were made into a dough with barm. On rare occasions only, milk and yeast were used. Milk had to be sold to pay the rent and yeast was too expensive to buy.

   Barm was made by boiling water, then letting it cool and then adding potatoes and flour. It was then left by the fire for about a week after which it was ready for use. Water was used to wet the ingredients when barm was not to be had. On black fast days bran alone was used to make the bread and it was wet with water.

   Cakes, when made were marked on the top with a cut of a knife, or pricked with a fork or with an ornamented piece of timber on which birds or flowers were carved. The pan in which bread was made was called a 'tosad'. It was a square piece of timber having three sides about three inches high. These pans are still in use in this parish.

   White bread was used when ever visitors came to a house.

   Eilish Neville
   Ballinacourty

   From Dan Neville, 35,
   Ballinacourty

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)
         1. bread (~2,063)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Eilish Neville

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballynacourty, Co. Limerick

   Informant

   Dan Neville

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   35

   Address

   Ballynacourty, Co. Limerick