One of the best simple pleasures in life has to be baking homemade bread. There is something satisfying about working with our hands to provide something beautiful and delicious for our family and friends.
While the task makes for a fun and fulfilling way to spend your time, it was once a common practice in nearly every household. And, as with most regular household tasks, breadmaking inspired the creation of tools to make the job easier.
In the 1800s and 1900s, dough bowls and tables were standard household items. Hand carved dough bowls were used to mix ingredients and to give dough a warm place to rise. Dough rising tables—sometimes called dough benches or trunks—were high enough for kneading and throwing dough, and came with deep internal compartments that usually lay beneath the surface. These compartments served as safe places for dough to rise without the baker needing to worry about insects and mice stealing a taste.
These days, making bread at home has mostly fallen out of practice in favor of the convenience of store-bought loaves, and new methods have replaced the hand-hewn tools of the past. If you’ve experienced sticker shock when shopping for dough bowls, take a look at what goes into making just one bowl. It truly is a form of art!
Though dough bowls and dough rising tables no longer serve a purpose in breadmaking, they can still have a place in our homes.
Here are some of our favorite ideas for repurposing these items into rustic and inspired home décor.
Source: Life on Summer Hill
Source: Wilshire Collections
Antique wooden dough bowls can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes, making them the perfect vessels for artfully arranged items in any space. Fill them with decorative stones, succulents, or candles to create a stunning, one-of-a-kind centerpiece for your table or mantle. As the seasons change, you can easily transform these pieces by trading everyday decor for seasonal accents. Use fall foliage, pumpkins and dried corn for a harvest look. Come Christmas, trade those out for evergreen boughs, red berries and shiny ornaments.
Source: Hammer N Hugs
Handmade, antique dough bowls feature gorgeous wood grain texture and subtle imperfections that speak to their humble histories. Each one is a piece of art, so why not display them as such? Arrange a collection of antique wooden dough bowls, adorn them with iron hooks and candle sconces, and mount them on your wall to create a statement display.
Source: Pinterest @mariacurry96
The size and height of antique dough tables make them ideal for use as kitchen islands. Not only do they add a touch of country charm to culinary spaces, the deep internal compartments that were once used for rising dough make for extra storage space for kitchen tools or baking supplies.
Source: White Pine Vintage
Another old-fashioned hobby that deserves not to be forogtten is the art of candle pouring, and wooden dough bowls make the perfect vessels to hold these creations. Longer bowls are excellent for multi-wick candles, and the clean and classic wood ensures they’ll fit in any room of your home. Try adding dried lavender and other herbs to your candles for a subtle pop of color and fragrance.
Source: Vinterior
Whether you use them as console tables in the living room or as a side table in an entryway, antique dough rising tables can be used all over the home for stately storage and extra surface space. Use the inner rising compartment to tuck items and knickknacks out of sight while you decorate the top of the box with framed photos, floral arrangements, and other statement pieces.
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