January 17, 2013 - 11:19am
Proofing Tea Towels
Fellow bakers, I want to start out by saying how amazingly helpful this forum has been to my bread baking obsession :)
My question is related to the tea towels used during proofing. I see that there are bakers who never wash their proofing baskets or linens. If I'm using a colander and tea towel combo, would you recommend against my washing the tea towels?
Thanks in advance for your help!
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Julia Child insisted you should never wash them. But she also said you should only use linen towels. Which are all but impossible to find now.
Be daring, wash, and reflour when you need a proofing towel. If it works, it's OK!
Ford
Hi Tangy,
I use tea towels and always wash them after each use. They work just fine that way! I find that any kind of a light weight towel works well. Happy proofing!
Thank you, all, for your prompt responses :)
I just bought linen (i.e. made of flax and NOT cotton) at Crate and Barrell. They feel wonderful. I have linen bed sheets, too. I'm sure you get find them online. As to washing, I'm not sure why you wouldn't wash them. I do....
My only cautions are (1) use washing soda and not soap for taste reasons as stated above and (2) try to dry them so they are flat and not wrinkled so you can dust them more evenly.