Geschichten und Volkslieder*

Bread baking tools and techniques - storytellers' stories, folk songs

Considering the special place of bread in Latvian cuisine, the term 'bread' means not only bread, but food in general. Good bread was and is the pride and honor of every housewife. In the past, bread was also the main livelihood of the entire family, so both the bread itself and its baker were especially praised. In folk songs, good bread is like the sun, like beehives, it is the pride of the entire family.

Bread-baking tools are mentioned in Latvian wedding songs, inviting the young wife to donate these important tools for free, which will help ensure the main source of income for the family – bread. “Latvju Dainās” also records the tradition of seating the bride on a bread-making platform at a wedding to ensure fertility and the blessing of bread in her new life. In the old Stender dictionary of the 18th century, there is information that the word klaips was used for coarse bread, it was black, common bread, but bukulis was a finer bread, made from refined flour, it was eaten by wealthy people, baked at festivals and carried with them when visiting, hence the word – ciemakukulis.

Teller stories:

• The storyteller Emīlija Rābe (born Ozola on December 15, 1889, in Zaubē, Jaunpils parish + 1983) told in 1982 : “They poured water in – lukewarm water, stirred the flour. Kneaded – if they wanted. It fermented overnight, in the morning I kneaded it, fermented it, then put it in the oven. So that it got out of hand (kneaded - I.Č.) – as they wanted, harder, but better softer. I had such a big abra, now it’s broken – by the time the Bolsheviks came in, not a single bread had been baked. There was such a mentē, I wonder if it’s still in use – such a special bread mentē. If there was cumin, we added cumin when kneading. When kneading, you have to add flour, so that you can put it on the dough. You can already see it in the abra – it’s already runny, sour, then knead. Bake in the oven for two hours. I pour flour on the dough, otherwise it sticks - add water. We baked four loaves like that - we couldn't put more in the oven. When the bread starts to ferment a little, we put firewood inside. Well, some wood - spruce, alder, birch is already too strong, well, any piece is available. I had a shovel with which I raked out (coals - I.Č.), there was a broom with which I swept the ashes. The broom was a kind of broom for sweeping, leaves. They sowed and then bent it so that they could sweep. They pulled it in front - sometimes, when it wasn't so well heated, they pushed it in front of the coals. Pour flour into the oven - if it's too hot (the flour burns black - I.Č.). If it's too hot, add salt, then it's not so hot. The same lukewarm water, so that it's smooth and draws streaks inside, so as not to break (bribe-I.Č.). Sometimes they also make a cross, sometimes not. The dough was taken immediately from the edge, so neatly, how big the bribes are thinking of taking – in four parts. Abra from one tree, round, gnawed. A deck was spread on top, there was a white cloth, like linen cloth. Lizi was placed on the abra and right there, you see, I put the akal inside. I scraped out the abra, I have abraskasis.(…). The last, finally, they kneaded everything together – the akasnis. They ate it warm. After an hour they turned it over (bribes-I.Č.). The bottom was not baked so well, they turned it over, they turned it over. They looked the same – at the bottom, they had to bake for two hours. They put it on the table, covered it – so that the crust was softer, so white bread with, when you cover it, it is immediately softer. Sometimes they wiped it with water, then "The crust was softer. As the eaters happened, they baked it again, almost every week." (Čekstere, I., narrator's notes, from 1980.)

• The storyteller Hermīne Driba (born 1901 in Bērziņa Āraišu's “Pūcēs”) also described the baking of bread in detail: “Abra – a loaf of rye bread was made of boards, it was light, probably of coniferous wood. One abra was hollowed out – for a spoon, it could have been made of linden wood, and there was a third abra for white bread – hollowed out, with 4 corners to pick up. They took one bucket of warm water without salt (no salt was added to country bread). Flour – about 10 kg, if not more. Knead in the evening, bake in the morning. Stir in warm water, quite thick, sprinkle with flour, knead the next morning – sour, leavened. Knead for about half an hour, until the dough is uniform, separates from your hands. When making the bread, scald the flour with hot water – let it stand for one hour, stir, pat, leave it until morning. We didn't leave the dough in the oven, the dough is already left, what's in the oven is enough, it always ferments. (…) The oven starts to burn when the bread rises a second time, rises to the top. Take a good lap of firewood. We only burned with softwood – spruce or pine. When it got really hot, we had to lift it – there was a crutch – half metal, half wood (for the handle), not very long (the metal part) – a blacksmith's work, just lifted it up and rubbed it. When there isn't much coal in the oven, you have to sweep it with a specially tied broom. Take two used bath brooms, tie them straight, then tilt them quite a bit – at a slightly wide angle, tie them again to hold on. Add a bucket of water, dampen them, sweep them. If they are very burnt, dampen them several times. The coals are left in front of the oven. A handful of flour is thrown into the oven – if they turn black quickly, add more strong, still needs to be wiped. Use a rag to help. The dough was like a big loaf in the abra, they tried to divide it into six equal parts. The outer one was rounder, they took a larger piece of it. In the fall, maple leaves were placed on the abra. The floury side was placed on the bottom, the smooth side on the top. They rubbed it, patted it, pulled it with their fingers from the sides twice, from the end. We used to sprinkle it on top, added to the dough, as it had grown (cumin - I.Č.) The abra was light. They sprinkled flour on the bottom. They put it in the oven! Usually 6 loaves. They were much larger than the current clone bread, about one half more. They put it in the oven, then they rubbed the abra - dried it - made a small, smooth, beautiful one, put it in front or to the side, wherever it was freer. When it was dry, it was immediately used - they broke it into larger pieces. When bread in the oven, then you put the coals on top – little pieces of coal – so that the top gets browned. There was a tin plate – you put it in front. You moved the bread after about half an hour – you put it on a bench by the oven, you changed it – whoever was in the strongest place, put it in the lightest. If it was baked harder, you poured water over it, covered it with a bread cloth. The tool used to scoop out the abra was called an abraskasīt. There was a blacksmith’s chisel – but not just made of iron – some kind of coating on top. One big, one smaller. At the end, like a loop, by which you hung it. Everyone had their own place in our house, you didn’t have to look for anything, everyone knew where each thing was. The abra was kept in the hallway, attached to the wall, flour in the barn, in bags. (…) Yes, when the bread was in the oven, then everyone got out of the way! No one was allowed to interfere. They didn’t let the bread oven warm up, then the bread will burst. Daughters must eat doninės, then they will get the owner's son. After baking the bread, they brought firewood and immediately put a piece in the oven. Let there be dry firewood for firewood. (…) Bread was not allowed to be cut from both ends! – once, if it was warm, then from the middle. The children tasted terrible, the daughters always caught it (so that the boys would agree). Grandma always gave the children crusts and said: "Eat the crusts, your teeth will be strong!" We often baked karaš – every Saturday, white bread – on holidays." (Čekstere, I., narrator's notes from 1980.)

• Even today, good bread-baking skills are valuable : "I taught my daughter Dace how to bake sourdough bread, and she passed it on to Aiga, the current owner of "Ezermaļi", my husband's sister's daughter. Nothing disappears or stops. I remember that baking bread was such a heartfelt event for us. When my grandmother was already quite old, it was difficult to move, she still wanted to be useful, wanted to participate in everything. When I baked bread, she at least sprinkled flour on me. When my grandmother died, I baked bread for the funeral. I had never made such beautiful loaves. Round as balls and rolled off the stick. It was in honor of my grandmother. /…/ I can still smell that fabulous smell of coal and juniper when I sweep the coals out of the oven. It's impossible to describe. It's a pleasure! In my opinion, nothing in the world can be better than the smell of bread baking in the oven!" (Sondore, Dz. “Suitu life stories and food”, 2011, p. 153)

• A more extensive story about baking rye bread without using salt, as well as baking sklandurausi, was recorded by Elma Zadiņa (born Derkevica in 1936) at her home in Jaunsniķeri. Zelma Zadiņa bakes bread not only for her family, but also for tourists. She admits that she inherited her bread-baking skills from her ancestors: “you see, the abra is the gene. Abra comes from antiquity/…. /Those days were divided in such a way that I baked rye bread on Tuesday, then on Monday evening I put sourdough or rolled it. “ Her mother called the bun with meat filling a hare bun, now it is more often called “father’s rausi”. There are usually 14 buns in a loaf.

• In the past, farming in the so-called ploughmen's and fishermen's houses differed, and barter trade often took place. As Lilija Marinska (born Andersone in 1934, father Kārlis from Mazirbe, mother from Olaine) said: "We would take fish to the mountains - here to Dundaga, and exchange it for flour or something else." As in other places in Latvia, in the Dundaga district - both on the coast and in the interior, bread was baked in every homestead, and grain groats and flour dishes from various cereals were prepared - both porridge and porridge, as well as sweet dishes. Among the materials related to bread, we should mention the discovery in the Dundaga Castle Information Center of Baroness Ruth von Grothus (born von Osten-Sacken)'s memoirs about life and farming on the Dundaga Manor in the early 20th century. Her daughter Erdmuthe Weber entrusted the memories to the Dundaga people. The already mentioned fragment about baking karaši in the manor kitchen in preparation for the summer solstice – Midsummer celebrations is also described, other dishes are also described, including “poor knights” (Armritter) – slices of dried white bread soaked in milk, fried. Bread baking used to take place regularly – at least once a week or once every two weeks – depending on the size of the household and the oven. Various raūši and flatbreads were baked on Saturdays or, mainly, on holidays. At the seaside, children would wait for the ‘sea bread’ brought by fishermen, while inland, fathers would bring ‘squirrel bites’ from the forest. Since the region is rich in forest berries, sweet dumplings, sky-blueberry and bread soup were also prepared. Also known are cold sourdough or milk dishes with sliced bread pieces, dried leeks and onions, as well as a drink with sliced rye bread soaked in water, sugar, sourdough and pūtelis. Both single-barrel and plank abras were used for baking bread. Single-barrel abras were often made of aspen, which tolerates moisture well, but linden wood abras are also often mentioned, as they are lighter. Different abras were used for wholemeal bread and white bread, and white bread had a smaller one. After the coals in the bread oven were dug out with a crutch and a kukuļi (the name 'kukulis' is mostly used, but 'klaips' is also mentioned), placed in the oven and pulled out of the oven with both a 'bread shovel' and a 'lizi' (also lizi). The name 'abrkasis, abrakas, abarkas' is used, only in a few cases - 'mazais kukuliņš, kukulītis'. It is almost always filled with dried meat with onions or - in coastal villages - also with salted sprats. Further from the sea, the name 'zaķkukulis' is often used. It is interesting to compare these names with the vocabulary related to bread baking published in the book "Dundznik valad" by Vilnis Mitlers, published by the Kubali school - museum of the region, with dialect differences, which have significantly decreased in the 21st century:

Abar – abra * maiz mic maizsabrȩ,* abar taisȩ from approx.

Abarkast – bread dough starter (leaven).

Abarkass – a hoe for scraping dough from abra.*abarkass hung on a nail.

A broom with needles for sweeping a bakery oven. *a broom made from fir branches.

Dižrouš – sklanduraushi.*dižrouš baked rudiņȩ.

Krāškruķs – a furnace crutch. * a crutch made of half-inch iron.

Firewood – firewood for firing a bread oven.* Firewood should be longer and coarser.

Kringel – a pretzel.*Mom, bake a kringel for your birthday! *birthday kringel with raisins.

Kūgȩl – rausis -* the shepherd has to bake so little kūgȩl.

Kukȩls - a bribe. *leave the bread on the stove until it's cold *bake a big loaf *such a bunch, the loaf is like water *the last loaf, because the bread is in a hurry *it is like a barley bread loaf *write the loaf little by little.

Kunkȩlmuoz, kunkȩļmuoz – milk soup with potato starch dumplings.*Izvār pill katal a kunķȩļmuoz.

Kumkȩls, kunkȩl – lump. * putrȩ pelej sour milk for lumps * sourdough all lumps are made.

Kunkliņzup – milk soup with small lumps of flour mixed in. * lumps of kunkliņzup like a stȩn.

Kumaz – a bite * take a bite of bread like a kumaz.* take a bite of a slice of bread like a kumaz.

Bread grain – bread grain.

Maizsabar – bread abra * maizsabar taisȩ from liep kuok.

Bread crust – bread crust – * no teeth, bread crust cannot be broken.

Bread maker – bread oven - *bread maker is no longer needed, there is no flour.

Maizskukĩls – bread loaf * in the old days, a large bread loaf was baked.

Breadbasket – a bag (pouch) for food * to store breadbasket for the whole week.

Bread is thirsty - bread is a lie - *Sprinkle flour on bread is thirsty, if the lump does not stick, make me a new bread is thirsty, the old man will die.

Bread dough - bread dough * clogs couram a bread dough. – p. 49.

Knead – knead – he doesn't know how to knead bread. – page 52.

Mīkal - dough - * bread dough should be kept warm, let it ferment * mīkal pill abar, go over.

Pančiņ, pančiš – pancake * lunch pančiņ a zapt.

Putar, kävputar – kävputra (in Kurzeme) *drink so much kävputar, you won't be thirsty.

Pūtēls – pūtēls, a specially prepared mixture of flour in sour milk, is stirred. *pūtēls in the meadow is such a precious thing, *pūtēls is a precious thing.

Baking powder – a mixture for making baking powder.*baking powder and baking soda.

Porridge – groats - *porridge thick porridge, *porridge made from barley, oats.”

( http://www.kubalmuz.lv/userfiles/files/Vilnis_Mitlers_Dundznik_valad_-_KSM_raksti_III_2015.pdf , 9. – 68.p., viewed on January 14, 2016.)

Tautas dziesmas:

“Latvju Dainās “ tautas dziesma par garo siltas maizes iegūšanas ceļu gan īsti precīzi neattēlo procesu, tomēr apliecina, ka tam nepieciešams daudzu cilvēku darbs un pūles.

LD 2217-0                                                                                                               
Pirmo dienu rudzus kūla,
Otro dienu bīdelēja,
Trešdien maizit' žūrēja,
Ceturtdien beķerēja,
Piektdien cepli kurināja,
Sestdien cepli iestellēja,
Svētdien bērni baznicā,
Silta maize kulītē.

LD 973,1
Maksājiet, sveši ļaudis,
Es nedēļu izdziedāju.
Pirmo dien' rijas kult,
Otru dien' māļu malt;
Trešdienā lietiņš lija,
Tad pie drēbu būķēšanas;
Cetortdien silta saule,
Tad pie siena grābstīšanas;
Piektdienā maizi cepu,
Sestdienā sviestu taisu;
Svētdien gāju baznīcā,
Dieva vārdus klausīties.

LD 4339-0
Ceplīts manis tēvis bija,
Abra mana māmuliņa:
Ceplīts mani sasildīja,
Abra mani pabaroja.

LD 25601-0
Maizes kvāšņa priecajàs,
Atved jaunu dūcitaju.
Ko, kvāšiņ, priecajies,
Tevi pašu nosēdeja.

‘Kvāšņa’ – Latgalē lietots apzīmējums maizes abrai.

LD 33343,1
Laba, laba ta māmiņa,
Kam maizite labi rūgst,
Rūgst tai pilna maizes mulda,
Klausa labi drauga saime.

*Informācija sagatavota pēc etnogrāfes I. Čeksteres materiāliem.