Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Hi All,

I am considering purchasing a set of 2 bannetons for bread baking from Amazon. Any feedback? They come in 8" and 10". Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Ken

They are easy enough to use, and make for a very attractive loaf. Dust well with flour before putting the dough into them, and just brush/bang them clean afterward. You put your dough into the banneton after rounding it, with the seam (or navel) up. When the loaf has proofed, turn it out onto a peel, or straight onto your stone. You can slash it before putting it into the oven, if you like. Denser dough will have more distinctive spirals after baking, the softer doughs get so much oven spring they can disappear.
Some folks line them with well-floured linen, which leaves the loaf with very little marking in my experience.

I agree with Becky - dust it really well and don't try to clean out all the flour afterwards - if you use linen you won't get the marks. I have the smaller one since I tend to make smaller loaves ( 1 or 1 1/2 pounds) and it works very well. Here's a photo of a sprouted wheat loaf that I made - it shows both the circular lines and the nice contrast the flour makes with the flashes:

Ken,

I made bannetons from inexpensive baskets and linen. They work nicely.

Becky, Lindsay, Tim,

Thanks for the feedback.

Tim - in Reinhart's book, they also mention the inexpensive option. Lindsay - that loaf looks awesome!

Ken