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Baking is not for the impatient

April 17 is the anniversary of one of the most important Supreme Court decisions of the early 20th century. On April 17, 1905, the court ruled that a New York law mandating a baker's work week to be no more than 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week was unconstitutional.

The majority decision argued that the law violated the right to make a contract with employees. The justices also said that the original law was meant to protect workers in dangerous jobs, such as coal mining. They did not believe long hours in a bakery represented any danger to public health.

The original law was passed during the height of the Industrial Revolution in reaction to unsafe and unjust working conditions.

Child-labor laws emerged in this period.

During the first 30 years of the 20th century, the Supreme Court maintained a strong capitalist philosophy and often rejected labor-protection laws.

Eventually bakers got their day in court. The earlier decision was reversed by the Supreme Court in 1937.

Bakers have a history of working long hours, starting early in the morning.

Baking is not a quick activity.

This Lemon-Rosemary Pound Cake With Strawberries and Red Grapes cake recipe requires about three hours to prepare, which is a relatively short time by bakery standards.

Fortunately for commercial bakers, the new electronic ovens with sophisticated computer-operated timing devices have greatly reduced the time required in the kitchen.

Work hours continue to be a hotly debated topic.

But there is little debate that pound cake is a sensational dessert.

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