April 13, 2014 - 11:40am
Baking in Flower Pots
Hello TFL-ers,
I don't own any bannetons so my boules usually end up looking a little on the flat and puddly side when I proof and bake them on a baking tray. I also haven't found any reasonably priced ones here in Ottawa, so I was wondering if I could adapt my recipes that require proofing baskets for terra cotta pots which I would then bake my bread in.
Do you think I would need to fiddle with the time and temperature? What pot sizes do you find give the most spherical loaf that imitates a round proofing basket?
Justin
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I would be leery of using flower pots for cooking, because I would not know what materials might be leached out of the clay. Use something that is approved for food preparation. I have used a colander lined with a dish towel as a banneton.
Ford
I guess it is a little risky to use a pot, even if it is unglazed. I should have definitely thought of the colander idea before popping my loaves in the oven. They didn't come out as puddly this time but still could have had more volume.
http://imgur.com/fQL5MEB
I use a baguette pan, that's full of many little perforations, to proof and bake my baguettes. I'm going to try a metal colander to proof and bake boules. Should work out fine, just have to coat it with something to prevent sticking.
Perforated Baguette Pan
http://www.amazon.com/Metallic-Commercial-Non-Stick-Perforated-Baguette/dp/B003SZBSUK/
Maybe something like this would work to proof and bake a boule in.
Stainless Steel Perforated Colander
http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Stainless-Steel-Perforated-Colander/dp/B000O1DMAU/
I could not be happier with my baneton purchases from Lucky Clover Trading.
They may not be local, but they shipped fast and their product has been getting the job done for significantly less than I'd seen being sold elsewhere.
you can always flour up a kitchen towel, roll it into a long rope and then tie it around your shaped boule so it won't spread as is rises. No basket needed this way and you can score it with the towel in place too. I get mu baskets at Goodwill for 50 cents each on half price / dollar Thursdays. Have all kinds of them now and they work fine and last about 3 years if you use them once a week.
That's also a pretty neat idea! We have quite a few old kitchen towels long enough to wrap the dough and wide enough to form a pretty hefty rope.
This is a very old method of containing dough and baking loaves - the recipes I've seen call for the new pots to be sealed first with oil or fat of some kind. I can't see any problem with using them provided you stay away from glazed pots - you never know what's contained in a glaze.