I picked up a banneton when I first started baking, but soon abandoned it for a bowl with a well
oiled and floured old cloth napkin inside. I like the shape better, and you can't beat the price ....

:-)

--
Jeff

Jeff Miller wrote:
> I picked up a banneton when I first started baking, but soon abandoned it for a bowl with a well
> oiled and floured old cloth napkin inside. I like the shape better, and you can't beat the price ....
>
> :-)
>
> --
> Jeff

I bought willow with liners from TMB baking a few years back. So I
cannot speak to plastic (though I still like the prices and think it's
OK if they throw the texture in for free <g>). Samartha's plastic looks
better to me, but then you have to deal with Euros and ship across the
ocean. If I were to do it again though I think I'd give these really
cheapo baskets (see link) a try. A lined basket/banneton really gives a
fine crust, one that slashes well and holds shape. TMB has a rather
nice lame too.

http://www.tmbbaking.com/supplies.html#baskets

Rice, to Huchindi's point, works the best by far (for me). I buy a
pound of white rice about once year and mill some whenever I want to
clear/clean the mill from other stuff. I've never had dough stick using
rice flour, even wet dough releases pretty well.

"Jeff Miller" > wrote in message
news:mailman.1.1155512027.25523.rec.food.sourdough @mail.otherwhen.com...
>I picked up a banneton when I first started baking, but soon
>abandoned it for a bowl with a well
> oiled and floured old cloth napkin inside. I like the shape
> better, and you can't beat the price ....
Yep. Same here. Got several of those ~$30 bannetons, cuz folks
made it sound like they were absolutely indispensable for making
bread. I soon found out different and haven't used 'em for years.
I make everything free-form and don't even use a bowl & cloth. And,
wonder-of-all-wonders, it continues to look and taste like SD
bread...(:-{})!

Finally, sold 'em last month to some lucky baker for about a buck at
our garage sale when we sold the house (just wait'll he finds out
that he wuz "ripped off" for a buck...(:-o)!). Sold him the
*absolutely vital* 10-speed, 3-beater, 500-watt dough mixer, *most
necessary* digital scales, *indispensable* digital thermometers and
all of that other techno-rot as well...(:-o)!).


L8r all,
Dusty
Who continues to hand make great SD bread by hand, out of a plastic
bowl, by volume, baking into a cold oven sans minerals of any
kind...(:-o)!
--

On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 08:44:24 -0700, "Dusty Bleher"
> wrote:

[---]

>Who continues to hand make great SD bread by hand, out of a plastic
>bowl, by volume, baking into a cold oven

A *cold* oven?

"Andrew Price" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 08:44:24 -0700, "Dusty Bleher"
> > wrote:
>
> [---]
>
>>Who continues to hand make great SD bread by hand, out of a
>>plastic
>>bowl, by volume, baking into a cold oven
>
> A *cold* oven?
Yep. Only way to do it when getting LP is 75 mile roundtrip much of
which is over unpaved roads...


D.

On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:09:00 -0700, "Dusty Bleher"
> wrote:

>> A *cold* oven?
>Yep. Only way to do it when getting LP is 75 mile roundtrip much of
>which is over unpaved roads...

Point taken !