Bread drawer?

[ottawasquaw]

Or is it for something else? Anyone use theirs?

I just moved into a kitchen where there’s a metal cover on the bottom drawer. I assume it’s for bread, sort of an old-fashioned contraption.

I recall folks having bread boxes years ago. I am wondering about the placement of the drawer. It’s so close to the floor. Is that truly a good location for bread or just a builder convenience?

 

[vacationhopeful]

I have 2 said "bread drawers" in my 1962 kitchen. Growing up in a house of 7 persons, those drawers were used daily for bread. We also had cats - sometimes up to 7 or 8; sometimes just 1 or 2 cats. We lived in a rural area - had mice. Lots of mice. And we kept our crackers in the glass jar they were brought in; used the empty containers for sugar & flour. Still have 1 of them.

Currently, I don't have a lot of mice ... a snake or two, but not mice. And today, I can barely keep a 5 pack of bagels from becoming moldy.

I just looked into both of mine - the entire draw (sides and bottom) is metal with a sliding top. Only the top has several small air holes (vents). There is a loose sitting rack also in each drawer.

 

[falmouth3]

I hadn't thought about it in many, many years, but my mother used to have one in her 1954 kitchen.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I know bread boxes were part of those "metal kitchen Hoosier hutches" which existed before cabinets were built into kitchens - if you moved, you took everything BUT the wall cast iron sink & drain board. (Used to move just your clothes yesteryear).

I know, I have torn apart several of those 36-42 shallow cast iron sinks with drain boards off my walls. (My 1929 building - still ripping that place apart --- an avocation).

 

[Beaglemom3]

I had one, but not in a drawer. It had been taken out. Sold it at our town wide yard sale for $10. (All proceeds went to the Mercy Ships).It was as described in the posts above.

Metal (sheet metal - tin ?) box with a sliding drawing on top, air vent holes on the back. Very "retro-ish" as it came from a 50s house.


Sort of like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Vintage-T...382?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce59c86ee






-

 

[Passepartout]

We remodeled the kitchen in our 1946 built house in 1999. We added a wall of thin cabinets (not standard depth), and had a local sheet metal shop build a bread box exactly as described above that slips snugly into one drawer. We use it for it's intended use daily.

The puzzling thing about the OP is the placement very low. Ours is just below the 'junk/utensil' drawer where the ice cream scoop, potato masher, pizza slicing wheel type stuff resides.

Jim

 

[DaveNV]

Could have been used for bread, or flour sacks (heavy, so the lower location didn't mean lifting so high), or even dry vegetables, like potatoes or onions.

Dave

 

[csxjohn]

When we built our house in 1984 we ordered one with the cabinets we bought. It was a self contained piece that fit into one of the drawers with the vent holes on the top.

It was just high enough for the lid to slide out when the drawer was opened. It's sitting in the basement now. Since the kids are grown and gone we don't use as much bread anymore and use that drawer space for other things along with some bread.

In the summer bread would still mold in that bread box drawer as it does now in the wooden drawer. During the summer months all the bread gets double bagged and into the refer.

 

[susieq]

We actually keep our bread in the microwave. (Just be careful to leave the door open a little bit after use, so the condensation will dry out, then you can repack.)

 

[ottawasquaw]

Very interesting! So glad I asked! Between the eBay link and the rest of the posts, well, it's a wealth of information and lots of great memories!

I know Hoosier cabinets well, being a Hoosier at heart. And, having been a Girl Scout and rural dweller, I tend to use lots of metal and glass. My drawer only has the sliding lid which is split so that the front slides back. It's not completely lined. Because of its location, I think we will use it for potatoes and maybe onions. Many thanks! Great hearing from everyone!