FORTY-TWO years ago (in 1973), a local cook-book taught us lots about bread

– that so-called ‘staff-of-life’.

We were told that the term ‘Bread’ may be used to describe the light, sweet-smelling crusty loaves, leavened by means of yeast, or a flat, unleavened cake, or “quick-bread”, leavened by baking-powder or soda.
Old Guyanese, as apparently in all cultures, found a certain satisfaction, ever pride, in baking a good loaf of bread in the home in old-time home-made box-ovens, tin ovens and later, the built-in ovens in modern stoves.

Some town-people or villagers lucky enough, after expertly mixing their dough and adding just enough yeast to make it rise and ready, would actually take it to the nearby commercial baker-shop to have it baked alongside bread for sale.

There is still nothing so satisfying as lovely brown homemade palm loaves or plaited loaves. Just hot from the oven, with butter, or stew, or gravy, or whatever.

We’ll return to the “culture” of bread from time to time – proverbs of bread; types of bread and so on. But as cricket is on, you must know that when the old experienced fans call a batsman “home-made bread”, they mean that he is good, very good – but only on this home-town wicket – not when he bats outside of his country. More to come.
By Allan A. Fenty