In the old city of Fez, morning loaves mixed at home are carried on boards to a neighbourhood communal oven, or ferran. Although domestic ovens have reduced demand, the ferran remains part of local life. A Moroccan newspaper reported in 2011 that customers had to queue and wait to recover their bread after baking.
Loaves from many households arrive at the same oven. The baker distinguishes shapes and marks, organizes the baking order and returns each batch to its owner. Because work begun in private kitchens passes through shared equipment, the bread itself acquires a turn.
The line sharing one oven's heat is more than a practical arrangement. Every loaf belongs to a household and every household has a morning meal to prepare. A short wait for bread quietly links the neighbourhood together.