Wood Block Working Surface

A damp towel under it will work just fine.

is a bit smaller than those dimensions and I have no problems with it sliding around while working with my doughs.

It has these little plastic vacuum holders nailed to the underside that keep it from sliding.

The setup you describe is almost exactly what I use. In my case I happened to have a big solid piece of butcher block that was left over from a friend's kitchen renovation. I put it, NOT on my counter, but on my kitchen table, which is solid and hefty enough to take the weight, and this gives me an ideal surface at a height that works for me from an ergonomic standpoint. (I'm just short enough that kneading dough on my kitchen counter was really hard on my shoulders; the table is several inches lower, and this makes all the difference.)

As for slipping - not an issue in my experience. The board is heavy and it stays put under my most vigorous assault. At first I just placed it directly on the table (surface is also wood), but now I wrap an old beach towel under and over it, so that it is easy to cover - i.e. cat-proof - when not in use. Towel also gathers ambient bits of flour, which ultimately makes cleanup a little more manageable. Doesn't seem to make any difference to stability - the board stays where I put it no matter what. If you're putting it on a very slick countertop I can see where slipping might be an issue. Only one way to find out! If so, maybe some of that rubber matting they sell to put under rugs would be a good solution. I should think that would be enough, given the weight of the block.

I leave this in place most of the time - bake about twice a week, on average - but occasionally take it down to make the full surface of the table available as a prep or eating surface. (And to change/wash the towel.) The board is heavy, so it takes some maneuvering to deploy and put away, but... so worth it. I love love love my improvised bench.

27" x 44" x 1 1/2" butcher block.  When we got granite counters, it went into the garage.  It is too heavy to move back and forth even though it is so much better for bread making (except laminated dough) than granite.  Wet  paper towels keep it in place no worries.  Stand on a couple of telephone books to get the height right if you aren't making the counter a custom height.

Happy New Year John  

Make sure when you cut it down that you can fit it in your sink if you ever want to wash its off under running water….I had a large heavy duty cutting board that I loved using but it didn't fit into my double sink so giving it a good wash once in awhile was very awkward.   I now use a heavy duty silicone mat when shaping loaves.  Not the same thing but much more workable.

Enjoy your butcher block.  Wood really is wonderful to work on.

Janet

Poor wood, confined to the garage between uses where the mice can run all over it.  

I cut a similar Ikea block for my Sil.  A kitchen table/breakfast bar sort of set up and oiled it well after sanding the edges.  The piece we cut off got turned into a cutting board but we drilled holes in the back and it hangs on double headed screws becoming a decorative part of the kitchen.  Might think about hanging it inside or on the end of the counter.  There are some clever hinges out there and you could actually make it flip up out of the way onto a wall (decorative splash board)  or stow outside or inside a lower cupboard.  How about a slide to pull out and flip onto your granite work space?     

I think I could make such a slide for storage inside one of my drawers as the sides of the drawer only rise half way up to the opening.  The drawer face would cover the board end and slide hidden there.  First pull out like it was a secondary drawer then pull out completely or fold out onto the counter top.  Have a shop cut groves into the sides to make or ev. fit a metal slide.

Ikea also has a large countertop cutting board with an edge that hangs over.  One side is flat, the flip side has a juice channel.  It's much lighter than the butcher block if you are moving it around. A sturdy rolling kitchen island? Drop leaf style? 

I don't like kneading on Granite either.  I have a drywall plastic scraper when I must and have a section of Formica.  Hubby wanted granite everywhere but I knew that once we had stone, I could never downgrade or cut out even a section of it once installed.  

I use the large Ikea cutting board for kneading and shaping.  It has enough work surface for me yet still fits in my upright storage cabinet along with the baking sheets, racks, and other large cutting boards.

Sorry to come late into the discussion - only just registered on the site today !

I use a butcher's block from IKEA, 19 x14 inches. Along one long edge I screwed a length of wood of about 2 in. x 3/8 in. section. The bottom of the wood strip is well below the bottom face of the block, and the top of the wood strip is below the level of the top surface of the block.

In use, the block goes on our kitchen table. The edge stops any movement forward under kneading action, and a thin mat of silicon non-slip material also goes under the block, to hold it against any other movements.

I really like using natural wood, the stainless steel dough scraper works very well with it as noted above, and I like to think it's a bit of a "warmer" surface for bread than some other materials. The block never ever gets used for cutting and is stored naked in the house between uses (no pets). The 19 x 14 size of my block may be a bit on the small side but to be honest I wouldn't want it much heavier.

Adrian