Bannetons in France?
Maybe someone can enlighten me here. I had the grand idea of finding some lovely bannetons, both new and antique, during a recent trip to France. Well, I searched far and wide throughout Paris and Beaune. Not only did I not encounter a single banneton, but most persons I asked, whether it be at a boulangerie or antique dealer had no clue what a banneton was or how it was used. Furthermore, I noted that none of the breads for sale at the boulangeries seemed to have been risen in a banneton. Are they essentially a thing of the past in France, and if so, how can they make the breads they do w/o them, particularly high water content breads? There were a couple of people that knew what I was asking for (and yes, I was speaking in French), but most had no idea.
--Rick