[Sca-cooks] Re: coffyns

[Terry Decker]

Town ordinances often limited the use of ovens in town, so the baker 
provided oven space for a fee.  Bring in your loaf, pie or what have you and 
the baker would bake it.  A village without a baker would often have a 
communal oven with an ovenkeeper to do the baking.  If a local lord had the 
oven privilege, then he would provide an oven and ovenkeeper and collect the 
fee for its use.

Those townsfolk with money tended to buy their bread, cakes and pies ready 
made (Menagier bought trencher bread from the baker for a wedding dinner). 
And if you need a specialty item cut a deal with the baker.  If the baker 
prepared raised coffins, I suspect it was a special job.

Noble households also hired bakers (under the same fees and requirements set 
by the Lucrum Pistoris, for England at any rate).  Since most of the 
cookbooks we reference are probably from noble or royal households, then the 
instructions are for the division of labor between the kitchen and the 
bakery within the household (a key issue for accounting within the 
household).  That might not translate to business for the town baker.

Bear

>  Okay I  agree with you right up to the baker and his pans or traps if you 
> prefer. Instead of borrowing pans why not have yonder good wife take her 
> mix in a covered bowl to the baker. After all most recipes talk about 
> turning over the ingredients to the pastier and asking for the right kind 
> of coffin or pastry  for it.  Tends to give the baker a lot of business 
> even in a smallish town.
> Da