September 25, 2010 - 5:33pm
Couche and Benneton
I've heard restaurant supply stores are affordable places to buy couche and bannetons, etc. I live in Lancaster, MA and work in Bedford, MA. Does anyone know of a restaurant supply store in my area that sells bread baking supplies?
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Hi, hydestone.
I don't know your area, but I can recommend the couches and bannetons from TMB baking. Go to
http://www.sfbi.com/baking_supplies.html
Their prices on linen-lined bannetons are very good, and the quality is excellent. The material they sell for couches is just amazing. It is untreated linen and acts like it is coated with Teflon. You don't have to flour it. You should never wash it. Even relatively slack loaves don't stick to it. It's highly recommended. Their price is less than half of what I've seen elsewhere.
David
Thanks for the recommendation David. I think I will order some linen and a round basket. Is there any reason not to get a 2 lb basket instead of a 1.5 lb? Ordinarily, I use bowls lined with floured flour sacks for boules. I have an oval banneton which I use unlined for batards.
The smaller (1.5 lb) size would work for up to 2 lbs, I think. If you are commonly making 2-3 lb boules, the larger size would be appropriate.
Keep in mind that a banneton is most useful with relatively high-hydration doughs where the purpose is to get the boule to rise upward instead of just spreading out. Thus, using a banneton that is too large is self-defeating, if you want a more spherical loaf. If a discus shape is your goal, go larger.
Hope this helps.
David
David, can you edit the link to remove the period from the end? It breaks the link address creating a 404, page not found, error.
cheers,
gary
Thanks for the heads up.
David