If you grew up with an older-style kitchen, you may remember that narrow wooden board that slid out from beneath the countertop. Many people today think of it simply as an extra cutting surface, a convenient spot for chopping vegetables or preparing ingredients when counter space is tight.
But that familiar pull-out board has a story that stretches back to a time when home cooking looked very different. Its original job wasn’t to support knife work at all. Instead, it played a quiet but important role in one of the most cherished traditions in the kitchen: baking bread.
