Narampola Bakery
SINCE 1947
About the Bakery
Hello lovelies, how are you all doing today? I have brought you guys something really amazing. So today I am going to tell you about the bakery that my grandfather had.
This idea came to my mind when we found some of the equipment that he used when he was working in the bakery that we had, and I thought of sharing those memories with you all. So let me start from the beginning. His name was Kalupathirannehelage Karunarathna and he started this bakery in the Delgoda Dekatana area which is also known as “Siyana Koralaya” in 1947.
Most people called this bakery the “Narampola Bakery” and the main product that they sold was bread. Apart from that, they have sold Buns, Semolina biscuits (Savbora), Rock cakes(buns), Finger biscuits, Ginger biscuits, and Baby rusks(biscuits). Not only that, they have even made Nice biscuits and Marie biscuits.
So the main reason why I am writing this article is to tell you about this biscuit mold I found laying around in the house. Although the prices of these biscuits have skyrocketed during the past years, in those times, they have sold for less than 10 cents. It’s really sad to see the economic crisis in our country, to be honest
Biscuit Mold
The main product they made was bread and they put it in the bakery for 26 cents and sold it for 28 cents. So the flour to make these products were imported from different countries all over the world. My dad told me that they used to import these from Canada, America, and even England.
Also, my dad told me they have called the flour they got from Canada the “Del Kole Piti Packet” because of the logo they had. It is a maple leaf and has the shape of a Breadfruit leaf. The flour that they got from England is called “Centennial” and most of these bags weigh about 50 pounds. My dad told me that they used at least 5 of these 50-pound bags at least per day to make just bread, which means that they have made at least 500-600 loaves of bread per day.
Wood Fired Oven
What does come to mind when you hear the word “Bakery”? Wood oven right? Do you feel or smell the amazing aroma that comes from freshly baked loaves? But today, they have been replaced with gas and electric ovens. But even today, you can find these “Dara Poranuwa” or the wood ovens in urban areas and soot-blackened little buildings.
"Kithul" Peel and Wood Fired Oven
They used the wood oven to make this bread and they used a “Kithul” peel to push the bread inside that wood oven. Not only that, they have used rubber wood as the firewood to heat the oven to bake this bread.
"Aguru Kokka" (Charcoal Hook)
They have used this tool to level the charcoal that they get by burning the firewood. The main purpose of this is to balance the heat level because that will help the loaves to bake evenly.
Iron Wok (Cheenachatti)
This iron wok (Cheenachatti) was used to coat the finger biscuits with sugar after baking them and the shape of this helped the finger biscuits to be coated really well.
Kneading Table & Bread Molds
These tables were used to make the dough for the bread and these metal molds were used to bake the bread in the wood oven.
Cont...
They have taken these end products(Bread) to houses using foot bicycles and they have used at least 5-6 food bicycles to travel around the village to sell these bread. Not only that most resellers take these bread in big boxes on their back and sell them to various shops as well.
So although most people have forgotten the value of these bakeries over the years, they have given us an immense service in the past. So this is just to remind you guys how special these bakeries were in the past and the methods that they used in the early times.
So, guys I just wanted to share these memories with you guys without letting them fade away and I will share every photo I could find regarding this amazing industry.
Also, let me know if you guys have amazing stories like this because I would love to see what you guys have to share with me.