The long journey from grain to wood-fired bread
Threshing, grinding, baking: historical bakery trades at the Franconian Open-Air Museum of the District of Middle Franconia in Bad Windsheim
By BAYERN TOURISMUS Marketing GmbH
Franconian Open-Air Museum of the District of Middle Franconia in Bad Windsheim | www.freilandmuseum.de
Süße und herzhafte Backwaren, gebacken im Museum im Backofen aus Badanhausen. (2010) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Ute RauschenbachOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Time travel through 700 years of Franconian history
The Franconian Open-Air Museum explores and conveys how earlier generations lived, built, lived and worked, mainly in villages or small towns. The historic bakery trade is of course part of this!
The path to wood-fired bread begins in the fields.
Around 30 of the museum's 45 hectares are used for farming, which is based on the historical model and follows the EU directive on organic farming to protect nature. In addition to the main types of grain, rare varieties are also cultivated again.
Getreideverarbeitung per Hand - Dreschflegel in Aktion. (2010) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Ute RauschenbachOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Processed by hand
It takes muscle power and stamina to get to the grain: it is beaten out of the ears with wooden ‘flails’. In the past, the proverbial ‘wheat was separated from the chaff’ by hand. Visitors can try this out for themselves in the museum!
Der Göpelanbau aus Ergersheim ist im Museum an die Schafscheuer aus Weiltingen angefügt. (2018) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Tobias TratzOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Processing with drive
From the 1860s onwards, the most common construction measures in the villages included the use of a capstan, such as this one in Ergersheim. With such a ‘Umried’, the circular movement of the animals around the capstan, grain processing could be supported technically and by animal power.
Der voll funktionsfähige Göpel aus Pinzberg, eingebaut im Göpelanbau aus Ergersheim. (2013) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Ute RauschenbachOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Animal support
A large, pillar-free space is characteristic of such buildings and is of fundamental importance for driving the animals around. For example, a threshing machine can be operated with the power of two oxen via a corrugated beam and V-belt, making the process much easier.
Der "Dreschzug" mit Lokomobile und Dreschmaschine, in Aktion auf dem Herbstfest. (2020) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Lisa BaluschekOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
More efficiency through steam power
Larger quantities of grain could be processed even faster with a steam engine (locomobile), which drove the large ‘threshing train’. Several people supervised all the work steps at the same time: While the straw was used to feed the animals ...
Next, it's off to the mill.
... the grain was transported to the nearest mill. These were farms with many outbuildings, as the mill from Unterschlauersbach in the museum shows. First mentioned in a document in 1124, it presents itself today in its impressive condition as it did 300-400 years ago.
In der "Radstube" verrichten zwei hölzerne Wasserräder ihren Dienst. (2019) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Juliane SanderOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Drive with hydropower
As was customary at the time, the mill is located somewhat out of the way and has a dammed mill pond nearby. Water flowing down from above drives the two (overshot) mill wheels. The water power is channelled into the interior of the mill via the corrugated...
... of the mill and operates the grinding and bag mill there. Tip: You can find even more interesting facts about everyday life in a mill or the construction of a mill wheel on the museum website in the blog ‘Mills in Franconia’ or in the story about carpentry.
Blick von der Galerie in den Mühlenraum auf die drei Mahlgänge Schrot-, Mahl- und Gerbgang (v.l.n.r.). (2018) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Frank BoxlerOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Work steps of the grain mill: cleaning, grinding, classifying
The 'Bied', the mill frame inside the building, connects the drive and the grinder. The grinding process takes place between the millstones, producing meal, bran, semolina or flour, depending on the degree of fineness.
The actual flour grinding processes take place in the centre of the bag mill with bag box, a fully automatic sifting and sieving machine.
Historische Getreidesäcke mit personalisierter Aufschrift. (2016) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Ute RauschenbachOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Filling the flour
Empty sacks of grain (linen) hang over the parapet during the milling process. The finished flour is filled at the end and returned to the farms that previously delivered the grain, labelled by name. The ‘white gold’ was then used on the baking days.
Now it's finally time to bake!
During the museum season, the external partner, the Wimmer bakery, bakes museum bread on Thursdays. Typical for the poorer Franconia of the time, the dough consists mainly of rye flour with sourdough, water, salt and a little yeast. The dough needs several hours to rise and rest.
Ein Museumsmitarbeiter schießt Backwaren in den Ofen ein. (2019) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Milena SchlosserOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Off to the oven
The finished dough pieces from the museum bread or cake trays are pushed into the previously heated oven; this process is known as ‘loading’. Due to the inertia force, the baked goods remain in place when the bread slide is pulled back with a strong jerk.
Temperature test
The temperature is tested in advance with a so-called ‘Hitzplootz’: a piece of bread dough is rolled out flat and topped with salt and caraway seeds or sour cream, bacon and onions, for example - a kind of ‘Franconian pizza’ that indicates whether the oven is hot enough and has reached 350°C.
Kurioses Handwerkszeug - der F(l)ederwisch. (2016) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Ute RauschenbachOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
An unusual cleaning tool
The ‘F(l)ederwisch’, a bundle of wings and additional feathers, was particularly good at removing dust and soot. Of course, a clean oven was essential for baking bread so that it tasted delicious (and not like charred ash)!
But what do we actually bake in?
As baking ovens were subject to heavy wear and tear, hardly any examples from before 1800 have survived. Depending on the region, people used their own ovens on the farm or community ovens. There are several examples on the museum grounds.
Das freistehende Backhäuschen grenzt die Hofanlage aus Oberzettlitz zur Straße hin ab. (2018) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Simon KotterOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Boarded baking hut in the courtyard
The Oberzettlitz farmstead was once closed off from the street by a baker's cottage, which was demolished in 1960. With the help of detailed information from the last owners and many comparative examples, it was possible to reconstruct it.
The brick oven, protected from the weather in a boarded-up wooden hut, now completes the original state of the courtyard in the museum.
Der freistehende Backofen aus Haidling komplettiert im Museum den Hopfenbauernhof von der Hersbrucker Alb. (2018) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Frank BoxlerOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Brick oven cottage
Almost every farm in the eastern Nuremberg region had its own oven; communal ovens did not become established here. The oven from Haidling, a hamlet of just two farms, is therefore a typical example of a small brick oven cottage.
They could be located in the courtyard, as here, as well as in front of or above the village street and shaped the village landscape.
Das freistehende Backhäuschen aus Badanhausen, regionaltypisch mit Kalkplatten gedeckt. (2018) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Frank BoxlerOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Freestanding bakery with lime slab roof
Freestanding bakehouses were particularly common in eastern Middle Franconia and the Altmühl region, as illustrated by the baking oven from Badanhausen. The gabled roof was typically covered with lime slabs.
The building was already somewhat dilapidated, but thanks to sufficient traces it could be safely reconstructed for the museum - baking takes place here almost every Thursday during the museum season!
Sale of ready-made wood-fired bread and sweet treats.
After the appropriate baking time, the finished baked goods are removed with the bread pusher. The still-warm loaves of bread cool here on the shelves before being stored by the family in earlier times. Visitors can buy everything directly from the museum!
Alles, was man für die Zubereitung des "perfekten Butterbrotes" benötigt - vom Butterglas bis zum frischen Brot. (2019) by Fränkisches Freilandmuseum/Lisa BaluschekOriginal Source: Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Bad Windsheim
Would you like to learn more about it?
The fresh wood-fired bread is best enjoyed with homemade butter. In educational programmes or at museum festivals, you can ‘churn butter’ yourself as in the old days or learn the art of bread baking in a course. There is certainly something for every taste here - bon appétit!
Franconian Open-Air Museum of the District of Middle Franconia in Bad Windsheim
Concept & realisation: Lisa Baluschek M.A.
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