Proofing Basket

ones off or trim with a sharp knife.  It will hold flour better, not a problem.  

"...not really sure what it is?"    It's a basket to hold your final shaped dough upside down and impress a memory and design into the dough and to lightly dry the "skin" of the loaf.  The proofed loaf is gently flipped out of the basket onto parchment or a peel, dough can be scored if desired and placed into the oven.  The empty basket is then banged to release any sticking flour and allowed to dry completely (banging or brushing one more time) before storing or dusted with flour and used again.  The advantage to proofing in baskets is that they can be also stacked saving counter space and used to transport shaped loaves from one place to another in the kitchen.   (or outside to a waiting wood fired oven)

A good dusting of flour before use is advised to prevent sticking.  More can be found with the site search.  Try:  care and use of bannetons or brotkorb    also    Teflon flour    or    before you use your banneton

I highly suggest you buy some rice flour and mix that with some AP flour and dust the inside of your basket.  This is almost guaranteed to prevent the dough from sticking.

To continue on to what is probably the next question, are you chaps using liners?  I started to, but now do not.

I have some liners I use in particular baskets and the others don't have any.

Depends on the mood I'm in...

Our local bakery only uses proof baskets for french boules from poolish. All others are formed on the bench and raised on linen couche. Even sourdough boules. The sourdough boules seem to have enough gluten structure and a taught skin so that they keep pretty good shape even after an overnight retard.