I just got my first banneton and i'm excited to get some nice rings on my bread. I was wondering, though, whether retarding in the fridge overnight will work in the banneton. it seems retarding the dough in a couche and putting it into the banneton later would defeat the purpose of the banneton.

looking for opinions on wicker or cane (or some other material) for proofing baskets, especially for high hydration dough where it might have a tendancy to stick.   also, while i am at it,  any way to test for protien content in my fresh ground wheat flour.  i have some that says spring, some spring white, and some hard red.  is it just understood what the levels are or can i measure it somehow.  thanks, mike

I'm just starting to explore the use of bannetons for proofing my dough, and I have a few questions...