Bread baking ritual

Bread is the oldest food product, which from the olden times is always on every table. Bread baking is a responsible work consisting of many stages. In Vilnius region, rye bread was baked; in the Summer, the housewife put the loaf of bread on calamus and in Winter on the leaves of oak. In order to bake the bread, one must have yeast, in which flour and water were poured, and the dough was kneaded for a very long time. After kneading the dough, loafs of bread were shaped and the yeast was left for another time. A cross was made in to the loaf of bread. Children were allowed to make “kitten paws” on the bread – to mark the loaf by putting three fingers together.