Choosing a Banneton Proofing Basket by Dough Weight, Dutch Oven Size, and Loaf Shape
When proofing your bread, choosing the right size banneton proofing basket is essential to ensure you achieve the best loaf of bread possible.
And luckily, there are bannetons on the market in many sizes and shapes to choose from, so you won't have much trouble finding the right banneton for your bread-baking needs. (And it doesn't have to be for you -- bannetons make a fantastic gift!)
In this article, we look at how to choose a banneton basket for dough weight, dough shape, and the size of the Dutch oven you are baking with.
What to Know When Looking For Banneton Proofing Baskets
Before choosing a banneton, let's look at how they can help you with baking bread.
A banneton is incredibly helpful when proofing a loose dough that would ordinarily flatten, but you want the bread to have a fantastic, round shape.
This baking tool is perfect for holding the dough properly until you're ready to throw it in the oven and bake it.
To choose the right banneton for your next loaf, you'll need to consider the weight of your bread dough. Selecting the correct size is crucial since it will affect your loaf's final shape and quality.
How to Choose the Best Banneton By Dough Weight
Depending on your bread dough weight, you may find that a particular size of banneton works best.
Selecting the best banneton size can be tricky, so we've researched to provide you with some general rules of thumb for choosing the best banneton by dough weight.
It's important to note that your dough weight includes all additions to the dough, so you'll only want to weigh it once you've added the flour, starter, water, salt, and any extras you may have planned.
You can reliably start with a 5" round banneton for 100 to 150 grams of dough, but as your amount of dough increases in larger increments, you'll need to increase the size of the banneton.
- 100 to 150 grams of dough: 5" round Banneton
- 150 to 225 grams of dough: 6" round Banneton
- 225 to 350 grams of dough: 7" round Banneton
- 350 to 500 grams of dough: 8" round Banneton
- 500 to 700 grams of dough: 9" round Banneton
- 700 to 925 grams of dough: 10" round Banneton
- 925 to 1200 grams of dough: 11" round Banneton
- 1200 to 1500 grams of dough: 12" round Banneton
Oval Banneton - Oval-shaped banneton proofing baskets are perfect for shaping batards. You can choose the banneton depending on whether you want a longer, thinner batard or a fatter, shorter batard.
- 300 to 400 grams of dough: 7" oval Banneton
- 400 to 500 grams of dough: 8" oval Banneton
- 500 to 625 grams of dough: 9" oval Banneton
- 625 to 750 grams of dough: 10" oval Banneton
- 750 to 900 grams of dough: 11" oval Banneton
- 900 to 1050 grams of dough: 12" oval Banneton
- 1050 to 1250 grams of dough: 13" oval Banneton
- 1250 to 1450 grams of dough: 14" oval Banneton
If you're purchasing a banneton, it's important to note that you'll need to buy liners, too. A liner is crucial for keeping your bread dough smooth when it's flipped out of the banneton.
The liner will need to be used with any bread you make, whether working with rice flour or a delicious sourdough bread dough!
How to Choose the Best Banneton Depending On Your Dutch Oven Size
When choosing what kind of banneton to use, ensuring the resulting dough will fit in your Dutch oven is essential.
The best way to ensure that your bread dough will fit in your Dutch oven is to measure the oven beforehand, as the sizes of Dutch ovens can vary.
The standard Dutch oven typically has a capacity between 5 to 7 quarts, comfortably fitting an 800-gram ball of bread dough inside. However, depending on your chosen loaf shape, you may need a larger Dutch oven, which mainly applies to an elongated oval banneton.
Considering that most common Dutch ovens will cook up to 800g of evenly distributed dough, the best banneton for most purposes is a 10" round banneton.
Depending on your preferences, it's safe to pick up some smaller bannetons too!
How to Choose the Best Banneton For Loaf Shape
Depending on your desired loaf shape, you can use various bannetons, all of which deliver incredible results.
Oval bannetons are great for batards. There's a variety of oval bannetons to choose from, too, with rounder oval bannetons creating wide and short batards and elongated oval bannetons creating thin batards.
Round bannetons are easily the most conventional shape and great for starters, too. Smaller round bannetons will give a rounder and taller loaf, while larger round bannetons will result in a wider dish-shaped bread.
Square bannetons and triangle bannetons are both unusual, but their shape does offer some appeal.
Couronne bannetons make authentic French baked goods, while long bannetons are perfect for baguettes and other elongated bread.
What is the Best Banneton For Proofing?
Ultimately, the best banneton for proofing depends on your intended uses for the banneton and the size of your Dutch oven.
There's a vast variety of sizes and shapes to choose from, each with intended uses and advantages.
Larger bannetons are great for making larger loaves of sourdough bread, but you'll need to ensure you have the correct size liner and a Dutch oven to handle it.
Smaller bannetons limit the amount you'll be able to make, but the shape of your proofed loaves will be nice.
You won't regret trying bannetons once you've proofed your first loaf. Whether starting with a gluten-free rice flour bread recipe or making a loaf with your favorite sourdough bread starter, you'll quickly see why bannetons are such a beloved tool in baking.
