Baker & Confectioner

[suttontrust]

I have an ancestor who was a "Baker and Confectioner" in Hastings in the mid 19th century.  Apart from the obvious baking of bread, what would his products have been?  What would a baker's shop have been like at this time?

[saffy]

Hi,
My entire family back to the late 1700s have been bakers.
My father was also one and both his brothers.
We still have Ort and Wenzel baker shops around the London area.

Confectionery when I was growing up was cakes.
All kinds of cakes, whatever the customers wanted.

The type of bread has changed so much over the years as well.
With the advent of the cut and sliced....rather wet and full of chemicals.

Is there anything in particular you would like to know?

Saf

[suttontrust]

Thanks for your response.  I suppose what I'd like is some idea of what a shop would have been like.  He would have baked on the premises, presumably - what sort of oven?  And what sort of confectionary would he have been making?  I used to work in a cake factory, and have a vague idea that all cakes were made with yeast until the 19th century.  Did they make cakes to order?  Sorry I'm not being very specific, but a description of a typical shop would be most welcome.