I’m looking for some advice, … Ive been making sourdough for about 3 years now and recently have been trying higher hydration loaves. My problem is that I’m finding during the slow retarded prove in the fridge overnight that the loaves are sticking to the proving basket cloth liner no matter how much flour I put on them. I have tried using semolina as well as flour but its still happening. It happened really badly yesterday and my loaf had to be scraped off it which then caused it to completely collapse. I thought I’d got away with it as it puffed up nicely in the oven! Today I cut into it to find that only the crust had risen and the load was very “empty” inside. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Ive watched Eric flour his proving baskets and he hardly uses a pinch Of flour whereas I “drown” mine in flour and it still sticks
Might just be the flour is too hydrated. Other then that all I can suggest is using rice flour. Excellent for non stick just make sure it’s normal rice flour and not the glutinous kind. And if putting the banneton in the fridge overnight do not put it in a plastic bag. The dough can sweat and become more sticky. Instead wrap the banneton in a towel.
Another tip that you may already be doing is to let your liner get “seasoned.” Of course, you’ve got to get stuck dough off, but if you have a round of baking where no chunks are left behind, simply let the liner dry out before storing it. Don’t wash. That layer of dried flour will prevent future sticking and from a food safety standpoint, it’s like dried sourdough starter – a nice microbial population.
Also flour the top of your dough before flipping it into the basket (you probably already do).
Jane, I’ve never had the dough stick to the banneton since the switch to rice flour to flour the banneton. I also don’t use the fabrics liner because I don’t mind the pattern the unlined banneton can make with the flour on the bread. Without the liner I’ve never had any sticking.
Don’t want to throw a wrench into what might be a perfectly good solution, but although I have and have used rice flour (and it works great) to keep dough from sticking to the banneton, I bake whole grain loaves of bread all the time and only ever sprinkle a small amount of bread flour onto the proofing basket liner to keep the dough from sticking.
My liner is very “seasoned” per Melissa’s recommendation above. I never wash it. But I never had a sticking problem before it became seasoned either.
What are the grain ingredients of your dough that is sticking, and how high is the hydration you have been trying?
I never wash my bannetone or liner either. I only brush it after use with a stiff brush. I’m using Canadian white bread flour, Wholemeal wheat, rye and spelt flour (which I mill myself) and I’m generally only working with 78% hydration. I’m in the UK if that makes any difference too
@janegove from the looks of the crumb and the flying roof of the crust the dough became overproofed. Overproofed dough will start to have gluten breakdown and will become sticky. This may be why your dough stuck so badly in your banneton.
math pedantry du jour: that’s 5%. I really think that .05% would be just a few berries.
I think @Bentio has a good hypothesis about your flying roof. Try dialing back the bulk proofing time and see if you don’t get less sticking and a better crumb.
Hahaha…maths never been my strong point but I’m really a “dumb blonde” this time! Lol. Think I’m generally underproving but this time I’ve possibly really mucked it up. Going to try the aliquot to help my bulk fermentation knowledge
Hi, Jane! I also use rice "flour’ to good effect in my banneton without a liner. Don’t bother buying rice flour. Since you have a mill, you can mill your own. Trying milling it on the coarse side. It works like ball bearings!
Fermentada, is that a real suggestion? I’ve always been admonished to never leave bread at any stage (initial proof, bench rest, etc) uncovered because of what will happen to it. I typically follow the Tartine method… a covered bench rest, then a final shaping into the banneton. If i leave the dough uncovered during the bench rest, will the final shaping be affected? Very curious here!
In my experience, 20-30 minutes is not a problem. That’s a typical time frame for me to roll out naan, tortillas, bagels and there’s no dry cracking of the surface of the dough balls.
Just think of all those pizzerias and bakeries that preshape tens of doughs and can’t waste plastic wrap across an entire table, like this (looks like tile)
