Early kitchens had a work table where baking was prepared, and a large dresser to contain pots, pans, dishes, etc. By the 1890s the plain baker’s tables began to evolve into the later Hoosier cabinets. The 1905 reproduction baker’s table in the photo below has a row of two bottom drawers containing flour bins, and directly under the work surface are two cutting boards which slide out for use. This baking table was replicated from a Montgomery Ward catalog and custom built for one of the authentic kitchens at the Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa.
Heritage Square Museum in Oneida New York has a photo of a mid-1800s kitchen with another baking cupboard pictured. Also pictured is a log-cabin kitchen.
