Banneton
A basket that supports a shaped dough during its final proof, holding the form a slack dough would otherwise lose.
Also called banneton liner (UK); banneton alternative (INTERNATIONAL); do i need a banneton liner (UK); proving basket alternative (UK); proving basket (UK); brotform (TRADE)
A banneton is a basket, usually cane or wood pulp, that holds a shaped dough while it proves. Its job is purely mechanical support: a high-hydration dough left to prove unsupported spreads outward instead of upward, and arrives at the oven flat.
The spiral marks on a finished loaf come from the basket’s coils and are cosmetic. The support is the function.
Cane bannetons are usually floured heavily rather than washed, and the flour layer is what prevents sticking. A dough that sticks has almost always been under-floured or over-proofed rather than badly shaped.
What it changes
- Increases volume. A dough held in shape rises upward instead of spreading outward.
- Increases structure. Supported proofing preserves the tension created during shaping.
Optional — convenience rather than capability
Supporting a shaped dough during its final prove and imprinting a pattern.
What works instead
A mixing bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel does the same job. It is not a compromise for a home baker — it supports the dough identically and simply leaves no spiral marks.
Liners, and whether you need one
A liner is a cloth cover for the basket. It stops dough sticking to the cane and it removes the ridge pattern, which are the two things a banneton is otherwise for — so a lined banneton is, functionally, a bowl with a cloth in it.
That is not an argument against liners. They are genuinely easier to keep clean, they suit very wet or very enriched doughs that stick badly, and they make the basket usable for someone who does not want the pattern. It is an argument against buying a banneton in order to line it.
Unlined cane wicks moisture from the surface and leaves the coil pattern. Lined, it does neither. Choose based on which of those you wanted.
What to use instead
A mixing bowl lined with a clean tea towel, floured well, does everything a banneton does except the pattern. A colander adds some air circulation. A round cake tin with a cloth works for a boule.
Whatever is used, dust with RICE FLOUR rather than wheat flour. Wheat flour absorbs water and turns to paste, and a dough glued to its cloth is a loaf lost at the last possible moment. This matters more than the container.
Stiff doughs and anything baked in a tin need no support at all.
Do you need one for sourdough?
No. A bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel does the same job, and it is what most people should try before buying anything.
What a banneton is for is holding a slack dough in shape during its final proof, so a high-hydration sourdough keeps the height that shaping gave it instead of spreading. Any support achieves that. What the basket adds beyond support is the coiled ridge pattern on the crust, which is decorative, and a slightly drier skin, because cane wicks moisture in a way a bowl does not.
The flour matters more than the basket. Rice flour does not absorb water and turn to paste; plain flour does, and a dough glued to its banneton is a loaf lost at the last possible moment.
Stiff doughs and anything baked in a tin have no use for one at all.
Related
Used for
A slack dough proved unsupported spreads outward rather than upward and arrives at the oven flat.