I finally saw what happens when you switch to a banneton for proofing

I used to proof my sourdough in a regular glass bowl for like 2 years. Then last month I grabbed a 9 inch round banneton from a local baking supply shop. The difference in the final loaf was NIGHT and day - the crust got way more even and the shape held up so much better during baking. After 3 tries with the banneton, my scoring actually stayed open instead of closing up. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in quality from just switching proofing baskets?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessaperry1d ago

Oh man I had the exact same disaster story with my first banneton attempt. I spent a whole weekend making what I thought was the perfect loaf, put it in the banneton for proofing, and then when I flipped it out onto the counter for baking it just flopped into a sad flat blob. Turns out I forgot to dust the thing with rice flour. My kitchen looked like a flour bomb went off and the bread was still a pancake. But once I got the hang of it, yeah the difference is huge. My loaves actually keep their shape now and the crust gets that nice crackle instead of being all doughy and soft. Bannetons are one of those things where you wonder why you waited so long to get one.

stella221d ago

Oh man, @tessaperry you're speaking my language. Same thing happened to me except I used regular flour and ended up prying chunks of banneton out of the dough with a butter knife for an hour.

paul_ramirez1d ago

Is it just me or is most of cooking kind of like that? Like you mess up the first few times and then suddenly it clicks and you can't imagine doing it the old way. I've noticed that pattern in almost everything I've tried doing from scratch, not just bread but even simple stuff like roasting vegetables or making rice. There's always that one stupid mistake that makes you feel like an idiot, but then once you learn from it you have it forever. Bannetons seem to be one of those things where the learning curve is just one really sticky, floury disaster and then you're good.