The Fresh Loaf

News & Information for Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts

Don't be discouraged: Knowledge is power, experience will come

September 3, 2007 - 6:34pm
dolfs's picture
dolfs

Don't be discouraged: Knowledge is power, experience will come

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browndog's picture
browndog
Sep 4 2007 - 5:05am

JMonkey had this to say about bannetons:
Sticking to the banneton Submitted by JMonkey on July 10, 2007 - 12:56pm.

I had enormous problems with sticking until a few folks on the forum gave me some tips. Here's what's worked for me:

  • Dust the banneton and then lightly dust the loaf before putting it in.
  • Once it's in the banneton, flour the sides of the loaf so that, as it rises, it won't stick to the banneton.
  • If you can find it, use rice flour or a 50-50 mix of rice and white or whole wheat flour.
  • Don't dust with brown rice flour. It makes the crust chewy instead of crunchy.
Dolfs, I hope you (and JMonkey, come to that) don't mind me adding this. You've created an interesting, helpful primer.
Chausiubao's picture
Chausiubao
Sep 4 2007 - 11:37pm

Whats wrong with using a spray bottle for steaming?

dolfs's picture
dolfs
Sep 5 2007 - 1:27am

Possibly nothing. BBA always suggests a cup of hot water in a pan first, followed up with the spray bottle. My interpretation is that spray bottle alone does not produce enough steam. Besides that I find that to create a reasonable amount of steam in one spritzing session the oven stays open too long, losing to much heat as well. When I first followed BBA instructions results were significantly better than not steaming at all. However, since introducing a heavy gauge cast iron pan to throw the cup of water in I get significantly more steam quicker and my results have been commensurately better. --dolf