Two of the most essential things in bread-baking, in order to produce
a full-flavoured, showy, and sweet loaf, are good yeast and good
flour. A good oven is also necessary. An oven which is either too hot
or too cold will spoil what would otherwise be a good batch of bread:
so great care should be used in order to have the oven of the proper
heat. Pan bread, or bread baked in tins, need a greater heat than batch
bread, as pan-bread dough is of a lighter nature than batch-bread
dough, and consequently requires more heat to keep it up. I do not
intend, however, going into the merits of different ovens, as I am not
competent to do so. There are so many different kinds, and each baker,
as a rule, seems to fancy what he has been most used to. For heating
purposes, cinders have taken the place of coals and wood, and (I think)
to the advantage of both master and journeyman. Cinders are cheaper
for the master and cleaner for the workman.