It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that it has only been in recent times that oil has become a more valuable commodity to Steel City denizens than baked goods. Some would still argue the point, citing the endless list of occasions that cannot be celebrated in a socially acceptable manner without cake, cupcakes, cookies or some other formulation involving flour and eggs.

Given the region's appetite for baked goods, why are so many of the places where Louis Flore worked for or competed against long gone? Like Heurich's Bakery in Spring Garden, where the 77-year-old North Side resident got his start, washing pots and pans in 1944. Or Rhea's, where Mr. Flore worked in the 1950s after serving four years as a baker in the Navy. Or Jenny Lee Bakery, the 70-year-old, family-owned institution whose obituary was written last month.

They have been replaced by large national operators such as Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, supermarket bakeries, and convenience stores that push what epicureans would consider baked goods derivatives to their gas-guzzling clientele.

Mr. Flore is still making a go of it, helping three days a week at H.D. Dudt Bakery in Pine. He and three other investors purchased the bakery from its previous owner, Herb Dudt, in 1990. They sold it in 2002 to Mr. Flore's daughter, Andrea Reddy, and Deb Lacher and Dennis Cobaugh, who have been baking alongside Mr. Flore for three decades.

At the time of the sale, the economy was digging its way out of the recession caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Krispy Kreme was invading Western Pennsylvania.

"They were everywhere," says Mrs. Reddy, 50. "9/11 left a big gouge and so did Krispy Kreme. It was a very tough year."

Then there was the quest for the guiltless doughnut, one free from the trans fats Dudt still uses and that Mrs. Reddy can detect at first bite.

"The taste is different. I don't care what anybody says," she insists.

Fortunately, most Dudt customers believe dieting and doughnuts should be mutually exclusive, so they didn't mind the owners' refusal to eliminate trans fats.

There are other issues. Ms. Reddy said costs are up 12 percent this year, paced by increases in flour and fuel surcharges.

"I never went through that they're going through with prices," Mr. Flore says.

Nor did he ever see competition like the Dunkin' Donuts that recently opened on Perry Highway just north of the strip mall where Dudt is based. It has a drive-through and opens prior to Dudt's 7:30 a.m. start.

To respond to market pressures, Dudt moved up opening time from 8 a.m., started offering coffee and raised the price of a doughnut by a nickel to 55 cents. Cake prices went up 50 cents "because we were getting so much feedback from our CPA," Mrs. Reddy said.

The accountant, Joyce Koehler, was one of Dudt's co-owners when Mr. Flore ran the bakery. She is the new owners' primary adviser, freeing Mrs. Reddy and her partners to concentrate on baking.

"She knows everything that's going on," Mr. Flore says.

Most customers have accepted the higher prices, according to Mrs. Reddy. While the average monthly customer count is down about 150 this year, those who are coming are spending $2 per trip more.

Dunkin' Donuts and other national operators are looking to grow their business by offering beverages, a business model that doesn't seem to make sense for Dudt. Mrs. Reddy said that considering the small number of customers who ask for coffee, it might make more sense to serve them from the pot employees use rather than the one behind the counter.

"We're not quite sure we're going to stick with it," she says.

Recipes are one thing Mrs. Reddy and her partners won't change. Mr. Flore had helped over the years developing the recipes for Dudt's pastries and doughnuts. The cake and icing recipes were purchased when Mr. Flore and his partners bought the bakery from Mr. Dudt in 1990. Mr. Dudt was part of a large German family whose members operated a number of bakeries around Pittsburgh. The only one remaining is P.J. Dudt Bakery in McCandless.

"That has such a high regard here in the area, that Dudt name," Mrs. Reddy says. "That's what they come for."

Preserving the value of that name and the tradition makes expanding problematic. "You can't keep up with the quality if you want to expand," Mr. Flore says. It also requires reporting to work at 3 a.m. to start the daily baking and working long hours at jobs many people wouldn't want.

"It wears and tears on the body. It's not easy," says Ms. Lacher, 53, who worked in her first bakery when she was in high school.

While it provides a living for the three partners, the bakery is a passion, not a get-rich-quick scheme. Mr. Flore says before selling to his daughter and her partners, he approached one of his two sons. The discussion ended when his son, who works for Wesco International, learned how much -- or, more accurately, how little -- his father made.

"He said 'Forget it. I'll stick with Wesco,' " Mr. Flore says.