Ever wonder how artisan bread bakers get such perfect round loaves every single time?
Chances are that they're using a proofing basket to help the loaves keep their shape and structure through their final rise. Proofing baskets aren't just relegated to the realm of professional baking. They are readily available to home bakers and a cinch to use! Here's the scoop...
Also called brotforms and bannetons, proofing baskets can be found in just about every shape and size--round, oval, or long. You can line them with linen for a smooth texture on your bead, or they can be left unlined and the pattern of the basket will imprint on your dough (like the image above).
To use one, first prepare the basket by coating it (either the bare basket or the linen liner) throughly with flour and shaking out the excess.
Make your bread right through the shaping step. Instead of proofing it on the counter top, dust the surface of the shaped loaf with flour and invert it into the proofing basket so that the 'top' of the dough is on the bottom of the basket and the underside is visible.
The gluten relaxes as the dough proofs, causing shaped loaves to spread out and flatten as they rise. A basket supports the dough as it proofs and prevents this from happening.
To bake, lay a piece of parchment on your baking peel or sprinkle the peel with cornmeal. Lightly dust the proofed dough with cornmeal or flour and invert it onto the peel. Slash the top and bake the loaves immediately.
If we're working with a particularly delicate dough or one that didn't rise as much, sometimes we like to use one hand to support the underside of the dough so that it doesn't fall too hard onto the peel and deflate.
When we first started using baskets, we had some trouble with the dough sticking to the basket. If this happens to you, use your fingers to gently work the dough out from the cracks.
One of our favorite sources for proofing baskets is the San Fransisco Baking Institute. They range in price from $8-$12, and sales of these baskets go to scholarship funds for students. You can also find proofing baskets from King Arthur Flour for $29.95 and from Kerekes for between $13 and $42.
Do you use a proofing basket? What are your thoughts?
Related: Recipe: Beginner Sourdough Loaf
(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
I have a couche that I use both for proofing all breads. For boules I just line a stainless steel bowl with the couche, drape it over the dough and cover with a wet towel. Works like a charm. Although it can be pricey, I think it's a very useful tool for a bread baker. If I had more room in my kitchen, though, I'd get a really nice banetton too -- those patterns look so good.
view bubble's profile
words to look up: couche, boule, banetton :)
i have just gotten into making yeast breads (for some reason i thought it was hard?) so i'll have to look into these - so far it's mostly been pizza dough and donuts and things that get their final shape some other way, so i wouldn't have thought about bread loaves flattening out! thanks
view akostalas's profile
I received a brotform/banetton as a gift recently and finally got around to using it. I didn't slash the surface well enough so it split out the side, but the ring pattern was still pretty cool
Here's a shot of the loaf and the process.
view s and the r's profile
I'd love to try this but I use the no-knead bread in a hurry recipe and it seems too wet. Has anyone else done it with that recipe? Am I just doing something wrong and it's not supposed to be that wet? (I haven't had it turn out badly yet, by the way, just slightly flat)
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
I use them to store potatoes and onions in my pantry...
view Ta's profile
Tiamat- check my link in the above comment, it was made using the no-knead recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
view s and the r's profile
how do you clean the linen? Do you have to take it off and wash it every time you bake bread?
view fischbowl's profile