Rules ruin a baker's sale

A recent story about the elderly gentleman whom the Shasta County Health Department stopped from making Christmas fruit cakes for sale struck a responsive chord. I ran into the same problem more than forty-odd years ago.

In 1961, after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation closed my husband George's job down and seized our property and water rights, we fled and bought a mobile home in order to have a roof and four walls.

There was a recession, so George couldn't find a good job. It was a lean, bad time for us. I thought I could help by making and selling homemade bread. I had started making our bread in 1940 and had continued to make bread until I became skilled and was known for making good homemade bread. I gave bread to family, friends, pot-lucks, and bake sales.

At one of these sales. I watched a lady buy a loaf and leave for home.

A short time later she came rushing back breathlessly with crumbs on her face. "Is there any of that bread left?" she demanded and bought them all when I responded in the affirmative.

Another demonstration of how people liked my bread: At Grange pot-luck dinners. I had been taking bread and rolls. One evening I was a bit later than usual. As I approached, I saw an elderly fellow perched near the door waiting for me. He watched me with my towel-covered big stainless steel bowl. When I stepped through the door, he called out, "She's here. Our bread's here."

Our oldest son later told of how he made money by swapping or selling his homemade bread sandwiches at school.

But I was told I couldn't make and sell bread until I complied with very expensive and restrictive rules, so it didn't happen.

I made fruitcakes, too, but I didn't try to sell them. I gave them as Christmas gifts. In November, I gathered the many fruits, got out my recipe (the result of experimenting to perfect it) and lined baking pans with oiled butcher paper.

I laid out my ingredients, mixed the cakes, and loaded the oven. The odor was mouth-watering. When done I turned them onto wire racks to cool.

I cut squares of cotton muslin and soaked them in sherry, poured about half a cup of sherry slowly over each cake, wrapped each in the muslin, then in plastic wrap, finally in aluminum wrap and set them aside to age until Christmas before sending them out.

They brought home rave reviews. I always saved some for us, too, of course.