I presently use an old wooden cutting board for working my dough. The board
while large is not truly large enough and I often have spillage over the
edges. I am thinking about making my own board with raised edge to limit
spillage. I have a few questions.



1) What would be the best wood to make the dough work board out of?

2) I am also concerned about the finishing, which would be better
sanding or scrapping?

3) Most wood finishes are not food safe. What kind of finishes would
work?

On Sat, 5 May 2007 11:13:52 -0500, "OldGreyBob" >
wrote:

>I presently use an old wooden cutting board for working my dough. The board
>while large is not truly large enough and I often have spillage over the
>edges. I am thinking about making my own board with raised edge to limit
>spillage. I have a few questions.
>
>
>
>1) What would be the best wood to make the dough work board out of?
I'd recommend looking for a wood with the tightest grain possble to
make cleaning easier. Maple or birch would be good. Less expensive
woods like alder would work fine. Clarity and tightness of the grain
would be more important than how hard the wood is.
>
>2) I am also concerned about the finishing, which would be better
>sanding or scrapping?
I wouldn't think this would make much difference. After being used
for a while, the finish, after being frequently wet by washing, would
become the same in either case. It would look like all other dough
troughs. With the old dough troughs in mind, I'd imagine they were
shaped with tools and then scraped since sandpaper would not have been
available.
>
>3) Most wood finishes are not food safe. What kind of finishes would
>work?
I'd use an oiled finish - as in vegetable oil. Apply a light coat of
oil and immediately wipe it off. Let it sit for a while and apply
another coat, if necessary to get the water-resistant finish you want.
I'd apply this equally to both sides of the board. As you use the
board the oil will be washed off and evaporate, leaving the wood dry.
Reapply a coat of oil occasionally to restore the oiled nature. This
is what I do with my old wooden rolling pin.

I hope you get some other suggestions. I'll be interested in what
others have to say.

Good luck.

> OldGreyBob wrote:
> 1) What would be the best wood to make the dough work board out of?

Maple is generally considered the safest choice for these applications,
because there is no concern with toxicity of either the sap or the wood
(considering that in other circumstances we eat distilled maple sap!).
With the correct cut it also works well in the kitchen as well.

If you choose other woods, be sure to check their toxicity.

sPh

"OldGreyBob" > wrote in message ...
> I am thinking about making my own board with raised edge to limit
> spillage.

It's really no big deal, you know. I cannot think of any kind of a
kitchen counter that would not be good for making bread dough.
Well, I guess raised tiles would not be too good if you use a
counter scraper. Laminate (e.g. "Formica") is a fine surface for
bread. "Corion" if you are aristocratic. Marble if you are Italian.
I figure I could roll dough on the floor, but, in my case, I happen
to be married to a Lutheran.

--
Dicky

OldGreyBob wrote:
> I presently use an old wooden cutting board for working my dough. The board
> while large is not truly large enough and I often have spillage over the
> edges. I am thinking about making my own board with raised edge to limit
> spillage. I have a few questions.
>
I tend to not work the dough all that much, and use plastic bus tubs
(about $8.00 for two of them at a Sam's Club near you) to rise the dough
when it gets to be more than a few loaves.

By mixing in the bowl and using a stretch and fold technique, the
physical effort, and need for a wood surface, are greatly reduced.

I got enough questions about this that I put together some videos, which
you can see at http://www.sourdoughhome.com/stretchandfold.html

Mike



--
Mike Avery mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
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