The Echo

As I was scanning through my son's history book the other evening, I ran across a very interesting article. It described one of the first loaves of bread... made centuries ago in the Swiss lake-dwellings of the Stone Age. Actually the bread resembled our modern biscuits, and as I read the article I marveled at the stamina of the women in those days. Why, it took at least a whole day to make bread! Acorns were boiled, then dried and crushed into powder. From this the dough was prepared, laid on flat heated stones and covered with hot ashes for baking.

It certainly makes one thankful for modern house-keeping conveniences, doesn't it? Think of our delicious, flavorful bread coming to us fresh from the ovens. No hot ashes are used to cover our bread! Instead, each loaf is automatically wrapped in waxed paper to insure its freshness and keep it sanitary.

As for biscuits - well, I use a ready mixed flour. I just add water and the dough is set for kneading and cutting. It takes just a few minutes. I always keep several packages on hand.

Incidentally, I just learned that ready-mixed preparations were almost taken off the market. When first introduced, the shortening in the mixture penetrated the carton and gave a greasy appearance to the package. Then manufacturers began using waxed paper inner linings, and the products immediately gained popularity. Waxed paper kept the carton clean and the contents fresh and sanitary.

You know, it's really fun to keep house and prepare meals today - but we'd be actually lost without all our modern time-savers, wouldn't we?