Bread trough facts for kids

A small model of an artesa made from clay.

An artesa being used to make bread.

A bread trough is a special kind of container, usually shaped like a long, shallow box. People have used these troughs for hundreds of years, especially in Europe, to mix and knead dough when making bread. You might also hear it called a dough trough, kneading trough, or sometimes an artesa. It's a traditional tool that helps bakers create delicious bread.

What is a Kneading Trough?

A very old dough trough found at Aberdour Castle in Scotland.

A kneading trough is the name for the container where bread dough is mixed and left to rise. After the ingredients are put together and the dough is kneaded, it needs time to grow bigger and become fluffy. This process is called leavening or fermenting. The trough provides the perfect space for the dough to do this.

Long ago, people in ancient times, like during the story of The Exodus in the Bible, used these troughs. The Bible mentions that when people had to leave quickly, their dough was still in these troughs and hadn't had time to rise yet.

The word "kneading trough" has been used for a very long time. One of the first times it appeared in English writing was in a famous story called "The Miller's Tale" by Chaucer, written in 1386. In those days, people didn't store flour for long because they worried about insects. Instead, they would quickly mix it into dough and bake it into fresh bread. The kneading troughs mentioned in "The Miller's Tale" were so big that people could even sleep inside them or use them as makeshift rafts!

Modern Uses of Bread Troughs

Today, most big bakeries use machines to mix and knead dough. New ovens and technology have made the old-fashioned artesa less common. Because of this, many old bread troughs are now used for other things, like being recycled or turned into garden planters.

However, you can still find them being used! Some people use them on weekends for baking at home, especially in traditional or rural areas. A few small bakeries also continue to use these classic troughs to make bread in the traditional way.

See also

• Kneading
• Dough
• Bread
• In Spanish: Artesa (recipiente) para niños