Village Bakers At The Oven

A brick and stone beehive oven stands at the center of a rustic courtyard, smoke rising from its chimney above a stack of split firewood. A woman in a red skirt and embroidered blouse carries a basket of fresh loaves toward the oven mouth, while another woman nearby holds a tray of round buns still cooling. Behind them, a man carries a basket of bread rolls, and a girl balances a woven basket of eggs near a cottage doorway. Bundles of herbs and garlands of onions hang drying beneath the eaves on either side of the oven, and wooden pizza peels lean against the brickwork. Green hills roll into the distance under a clear sky, and sacks of flour and clay jugs sit stacked near the courtyard's edge. Each loaf carried across the yard finds its own place on the growing pile of bread.