Wanting crispy, but thinking oily
A couple of questions to all you dough nuts.
Normally, I avoid oil -- sprayed or brushed -- because I have this belief from somewhere that surface oil softens crust. That said, I'm also riddled with self-doubt because if Peter Reinhart abuses spray oil, it's gotta be a good thing, right?
Well, a couple of specific questions about use of oil.
1. Do you oil your primary fermentation bowl? ...to make it easier to get the first rise onto the counter for pre-shaping?
2. Those of you that line your proofing shapes with cloth -- canvas, linen, dish towels -- do you oil the cloth, or flour it after oiling it? I have several linen dish towels that I use to line my proofing bowls, and I rub rice flour into them. Works great, but I get rice flour everywhere! It struck me to try misting the cloths with oil before spreading flour/rice flour on them. Thoughts?
Thanks, as always, for advice or new ideas.
--Grrr.
I'd like to have perfect buns, but I prefer loafing.