Do people cover their proofing baskets with anything during a long bulk fermentation?
My NK sourdough takes about 24 hours to fully mature. I’ve been letting it rise in a bowl, covered in parchment, with a pan lid loosely covering the bowl. Now I’m trying out the oblong proofing basket, and wondering how best to cover it during that long bulk. For now I’m using parchment and the lid of an oblong cloche, but I’m curious to hear what others are doing!
For a long time, I used plastic wrap but for the last year I’ve been using some “stretch to fit” bowl covers. these are my current favorite. I do dry, sometimes rinse as well. The Covermate in the link above have gone 6 months so far. Typically, the elastic eventually breaks or one tears, but I find them more convenient than wrap. You can make them almost airtight or you can use a larger size and allow some air. I have the oblong basket and baker and the largest size works fine for me with the proofing basket.
I buy the 2 gallon freezer Ziplock bags at Target. It measures 13" x 15". Not only useful for an oblong proofing basket, it works great for laminated dough in a quarter sheet pan. I hope that helps!