Bread trough

A bread trough, dough trough or kneading trough, sometimes referred to as artesa, is a rectangular receptacle with a shallow basin, and a traditional kneading tool used for the making of dough. The wooden form has been used in Europe for centuries in breadmaking.
Kneading-trough.
A kneading trough ( "mishereth") is a term for the vessel in which dough, after being mixed and leavened was left to swell or ferment (; ; ). The dough in the vessels at the time of The Exodus was still unleavened, because the people were compelled to withdraw in haste.((Eastons))
The first citation of kneading-trough in the Oxford English Dictionary is Chaucer, The Miller's Tale, 1386. Flour was not stored, perhaps for fear of insect infestation, but kneaded into dough and baked into the bread without delay. Kneading-troughs in the Miller's Tale is big enough for people to sleep in and may be used as floating rafts.
Other uses.
Mechanization in bakeries and new technologies in bread ovens have mostly relegated the artesa to either recycling or as a garden box, excepting for weekends or more traditional or rural areas. Some small bakeries continue to use them.