Comments on: My (Non-)Bannetons

By: Pane al cioccolato II « Toxo Bread

Pane al cioccolato II « Toxo Bread — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:06:49 +0000

[...] other major change was to proof it in a makeshift proofing basket, aptly discussed by Susan at Wild Yeast. I sprinkled flour on top of linen that lined a [...]

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:45:49 +0000

Great ideas. I spotted a lettuce spinner among the “bannetons”! I love the idea of multi tasking kitchen items. Great use of time and money and space!

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:03:24 +0000

Thanks all, I’m glad I’m not the only one doing proofing baskets by the seat of my pants.

Sandy, yes, muslin is a good stand-in for linen, as are cotton napkins and tea towels. Just make sure it’s well-floured as I think cotton might have a bit more tendency to stick than linen (or I might just be making that up).

By: MC

MC — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:30:12 +0000

Great post, Susan! I love the tip about putting the dough on the horizontally floured linen and let its weight lower it gently into the basket.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:01:33 +0000

I don’t even actually own an authentic banneton because they are so darn expensive and I love my homemade ones for all the reasons you have listed. I go to the equivalent of the Sally Ann and buy all the nice bread baskets in all different shapes for around 50 cents. I even found the linen napkins there that are the perfect size for doing small couches or fitting the bannetons. Who needs preofessional equipment? Your baskets are beautiful!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:44:59 +0000

Thanks for this post – I’ve been wondering how important the form was to structure, and now you’ve made me see that some experimenting with different types of baskets is fine. Whew!

I’d love to know if unbleached muslin could be used in place of linen . . .

By: Jude

Jude — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:40:51 +0000

Nice tips… Pretty crazy what some stores charge for bannetons and proofing baskets.
I especially like the comment about stickiness. It SUCKS when that happens and using removable linen really helps.

By: breadchick

breadchick — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:54:58 +0000

Now do I feel stupid…

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve removed the folded up linens from the BANNETON AND BROTFORM pile to flour the darn things and never once did it occur to me to line them with the linens. DOH!!!!

By: Janet Ching

Janet Ching — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:16:19 +0000

Hi there, apart from cooking, I like baking bread too, lovely to find your blog. Cheers, Janet

By: rainbowbrown

rainbowbrown — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:53:09 +0000

What a fantastic post. I don’t have a brotform and though I do think it would be really neat to have one, my baskets and mixing bowls work just swimmingly with linen draped in them. When I’m proofing really wet doughs I like to dust mine with rye flour – I feel like it’s less likely to absorb it so readily.