Get your banneton ready, it’s a good idea to prep your bread baskets!
This tiny video clip shows you what to do with a brand new banneton / bread proofing basket (rijsmandjes in Dutch) before using it for the very first time.
It is important to prepare your banneton before use to avoid dough sticking incidents, but above all to get great looking loaves! This is especially true for bannetons made of wicker but you can also use this method for all your wood fibre proofing baskets.
In our WKB webshop you will find bannetons, both in cane and wood-fibre, in many shapes and sizes.









Thanks for this. I bought a new banneton at the weekend and had a bit of a sticking dough disaster as i just floured it as usual. Bread tasted fine, a cheese chilli and rocket leaf creation, but it looked like a deformed splat. luckily I am only a home baker and eat most of my own bread!
Hi Ray,
Glad to be of help! And even a deformed bread can taste delicious…+your other loaves look just stunning!
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This UK newbie breadmaker thanks you for the video! I’m one of those who learn better by seeing things, rather than reading about them! Could you let me know if it matters what type of flour is used to flour the banneton? Would white flour or semolina be OK, as wholewheat and rye are off the menu for various reasons.
Hello Sue,
We always use our normal bread flour (white flour) for our bannetons and this works very good and is commonly used by many bakers. We also use this flour to dust our baking linen.
We use semolina or rice flour on our bread peels to slide the bread in the oven. The grains are very round and hard and this is why it works really well sliding the (usually rather wet) dough in the oven.
Good luck with it and happy baking!
Marieke
Thank you Marieke – my sourdough is proving right now – I’ll let you know if I have a triumph or a tragedy!
Sue
Wow! I’m so pleased to report a triumph (even if I do say so myself!) – no sticking to the banneton at all. Thanks again.
As I’m typing this (and moving on from sourdough temporarily), my first attempt at Stollen is on its final rise…… I can’t wait until Christmas? !
Sue
Hi Sue,
Great stuff! We also bake stollen for Easter,but we also have these mini ‘trial’ stollen that are lovely to make. Any excuse for stollen really
Hope it will be delicious too!
Happy Baking,
Marieke