I took a tip from the old time bakers in the deep South, in particular
Louisiana. The home bakers I met in my travels through that area back in
the 50's used a long, shallow wooden bowl, a "dough trough" for mixing,
kneading and rising the dough which was fairly soft. You can occasionally
find one of these "antique" wood bowls, usually carved from cypress, in
antique stores, but they are fairly rare and very costly. However, you can
find less expensive large wood "salad" bowls which work just as well.
I use a plastic scraper which is shaped sort of like an artist's palette,
is 7 inches long and 5 inches across, more or less and has a 1 inch hole
near one edge. It is perfect for scraping the dough in the bowl and, when
I sprinkle more flour over the dough I use it to "chop" the flour down into
the dough.
I find this is a lot neater than working a soft or slack dough on my dough
board which tends to send puffs of flour off in all directions, much to the
delight of my underfoot dogs who seem to think I am playing a game with
them. Of course as soon as the flour lands on any part of their bodies,
they immediately run and jump on the furniture and rub it off on the dark
brown velour upholstery. I have from time to time found large wood salad
bowls in thrift shops, also at Cost Plus and at Pier One. I also found a
very large one at a Hawaiian shop that was going out of business - that was
a real bargain, beautifully made and for only $20.00.
--
Andie Paysinger & the PENDRAGON Basenjis,Teafer,Cheesy,Singer & Player
asenji@earthlink.net So. Calif. USA "In the face of adversity, be
patient, in the face of a basenji, be prudent, be canny, be on your
guard!"
http://home.earthlink.net/~asenji/