In the good ole days, most homes in the countryside made their own family bread using a special homemade oven. It was a dome-shaped oven made with dried mud.
First, wood was burned inside the mud oven. When the charcoal was red hot, it was moved to the back of the oven. Then the freshly made bread was carefully introduced inside the oven with a spatula having a large wooden handle. The entrance of the oven was covered with a metallic lid, and in a few minutes, the crispy brown bread was ready to be eaten.
My mother-in-law made excellent bread using ovens like these, and I was the first one at the table when the tasty bread came out. Yumity-yum-yum-yum.
This tradition is slowly disappearing from the countryside, as the country moved to more modern times and bread is bought at the supermarket. Below is a photograph of a mud oven of yesteryear.
Snapshot of a homemade mud oven exhibited at Mi Pueblito in Panama City, Panama. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.
But at least now the tradition of home-baked bread is coming back. Certain businesses are based solely on selling good bread.
I suppose the introduction of grocery store bread was a good thing, back in the day. And yes, I still use it from time to time. But there’s nothing better than freshly-baked bread or yeast rolls!
Hello Linda:
We buy Mexican Bimbo Multigrain bread due to its nutritious characteristics. But I still miss the crisp bread coming out of the dried mud oven in my mother-in-law’s home.
Regards,
Omar.-