WEIGHT OF BREAD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5481, 30 September 1929, Page 3

WEIGHT OF BREAD.

UNSATISFACTORY LAWS. ALTERATION SUGGESTED. “The laws of measures and weights governing bakers should he altered to refer to dough-weight rather than to the, weight of a baked loaf.” This is a statement made in the course of an address to the Canterbury Philosophical Society last week by Mr H. E. West, who maintained that bread was too often underbaked through a baker’s fear of the finished loaf falling below the stipulated loaf, therefore making him liable to a heavy fine. Commenting on the statements the “Taranaki Herald” says : “ Eating underbaked bread is the cause of so much indigestion and consequent illhealth and misery that the statement deserves more than passing attention. the law says that a fourpound loaf must weigh four pounds, therefore the baker weighs not less than four pounds three ounces of dough for each loaf, to allow for loss of moisture in baking. If the loaf is left a little too long in the oven it may lose more than three ounces, so he is careful not to overbake it. Frequently he errs on the side of caution, with the result that the customer gets an underbaked loaf, which is neither palatable nor digestible. It weighs the full four pounds and complies with the law. Somebody has said that the law is an ass and in this respect it certainly is not very sensible, since it permits a baker to sell to his customers an undue proportion of moisture which has no nutritive value and is actually deleterious to the consumer. There is no more value in an under-baked loaf weighing the full foui’ pounds than in a well-baked one weighing two or three ounces less. The customer may think he is being robbed if his loaf is slightly under weight, and may be quite satisfied if it draws the full four pounds, though it contains an ounce or two of superfluous and harmful moisture. The law practically compels the baker to be very careful that he does not over-bake his bread and so make it light by putting an extra ounce of dough into each loaf. If he had a trade of 4000 loaves a week this would cost him £l5 a week. Mr West’s statement with which we commenced this article seems fully justified. The altering of of the law to make it apply to dough weight instead of loaf weight would protect the consumer just as much as the present law, and it would tend to better baking and better health.”