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I think it was the equivalent of a tax stamp

My recollection from a previous article was that in many cases, ovens were communal, so the mark was so that they knew which items belonged to a particular baker:

https://wheatbeat.com/bread-stamps/

That is correct. In my home country, Spain, such ovens still exist, although nowadays they are few and far between. The few people who still use them keep signing their bread, a tradition that goes back to at least the Ancient Egypt. You can read a bit more in this Wikipedia article (no English version, sorry)

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sello_de_pan

Interesting, do you have to stamp it at a certain point in the baking process? I'm guessing after it expands at a certain point

At certain religious events, even today, Orthodox Christians serve a handmade bread that has such a seal applied after it is shaped into a cross but before it rises and is baked in the oven. Once it rises, the mark expands but remains clearly visible after baking.

I guess the share your home BS started hundreds of years before my time makes life seem more futyl

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