From the Early Files at the Barnstable Patriot- by John Watters "Speaking of the Cape girls I must not forget to relate the manner in which they bake their bread; a batch is mixed in the evening, made into cakes of a suitable size and placed on their feet, they then stretch themselves at length upon the floor with their feet in front of a roaring fire, and come morning the bread will be ready for the table. I have seen a dozen girls in this position in a single room, all lying round the hearth like so many tom-cod in a frying pan, with a loaf of bread on each of their feet as big as a salt fish." Find some more good stories at http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/early_files_doc_25.html