TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Wilson, grandson of him to wliom my father sold it, and is at present the 

 oldest bakery in the city. 



Bread must be divided into two kinds, the "leavened" and the "unleav- 

 ened" or loaf bread, and ship bread or biscuit, which includes small crack- 

 ers, as visually termed. 



I will commence with the " leavened" or loaf bread, and state that before 

 the war of 1812, it was raised by yeast obtained from breweries, and, 

 although sometimes from unknown causes it failed to produce the desired 

 effect of lightness, yet I never knew of an instance of having sour bread 

 with it. 



Soon after the war, a Scotchman introduced a mode of making yeast, 

 which secret was sold to a baker who supplied the bakers for some years 

 with yeast made with hops and malt, which proved both certain and sure, 

 but required care to prevent an excess of fermentation causing it to sour. 

 At last, however, the secret leaked out, and bakers have since made their 

 own yeast. 



At the above mentioned time, the loaf bread with which the people were 

 supplied, was subject to inspection as to weight and quality, and, if found 

 wanting, was condemned and sent to the poorhouse, subjecting the baker 

 to ten cents fine on each loaf, besides the loss of the bread. The bakers at 

 the time were every Saturday supplied by the inspectors with a printed 

 tariff of weight the bread should be for the subsequent week ; being regu- 

 lated by the corporation each week, according to the price of flour ground 

 in this state. This was a great advantage to the bakers — because scarcely 

 any of this state flour was used in the manufacture of loaf bread, as it did 

 not contain sufficient gluten to take «p the quantity of water that southern 

 flour would to make a large loaf out of a small quantity of flour. For 

 instance, the corporation notice to the bakers was based upon the barrel of 

 flour ground in this state turning out two hundred and fifty pounds of baked 

 bread, which it would about do ; but, by using Virginia flour, the yield 

 would be about twelve pounds more — the excess of profit accruing from the 

 sale of water. 



It may be new to some of the younger members of this Club, if I here 

 refer to the unparalleled rapid growth of this city. Soon after the war of 

 1812, I occupied premises running through from the Bowery to Third 

 Avenue — then newly cut through — and, strange to say, those premises 

 were on the spot directly beneath where I now stand. At that time there 

 were but two others engaged in baking all the bread required for the whole 

 island above this spot, and neither of us were troubled with an excess of 

 business. 



To conclude my remarks on leavened or loaf bread, I can, from long 

 experience, say with truth, that I never knew a baker, for profit, put any 

 article in his bread to adulterate it. But I have heard that, of late years, 

 it is a common practice to use potatoes for such purpose, and I will state 

 its effect : When bread made in this way becomes stale, on breaking the 



