Chatted with a bakery owner in Portland who flipped my thinking on proofing baskets

I was complaining to this guy Tim who runs a bakery near my place about how my bannetons always stick. He laughed and said I was probably dusting them with too much rice flour, like more than 2 tablespoons. He uses a 50/50 mix of white rice and all purpose flour, and now my loaves don't tear at all. Has anyone else tried a different flour blend for their bannetons?

2 comments

2 Comments

reeseperez1mo ago

I tried a 60/40 mix of brown rice flour and regular bread flour after my own bread kept tearing up. The brown rice gives it a bit more grip without sticking like crazy. Used maybe a tablespoon and a half total for a 9-inch banneton and it worked way better than the straight rice flour I was doing before. Also found that letting the dough rest in the fridge for an hour after shaping helps it not stick so bad.

the_emery1mo ago

Did you try resting the dough in the fridge before shaping too @reeseperez, or only after? Wondering if that hour cold rest helps keep the banneton dusting from soaking in right away.