Traditional rattan bread proofing baskets are great, but as with anything, they have their pluses and minuses. One of the primary issues that we hear about all the time is that wet dough can get stuck to them and when it does, it can be anywhere from somewhat to extremely difficult to clean it off. Aside from the annoyance, we’re all now very much more conscious of sanitary food preparation, both in the home and especially in a food industry context. For bakeries, restaurants, and other volume users of rattan baskets, another annoyance is the necessity to allow them to dry completely after use before you stack them together for storage in order to avoid the promotion of mold. And finally, one other issue with rattan proofing baskets that we’ve experienced more and more lately is availability. Nearly all rattan baskets are manufactured in Asia and especially for those of us in the US, just getting them here has become increasingly difficult of late. We set out to solve all of these problems by designing and locally (USA) manufacturing a whole new concept in bread proofing baskets. We’ve leveraged advanced materials engineering using an eco-friendly composite material made of 30% recycled maple wood fiber and 70% certified food-safe, BPA and phthalate free polypropylene. It’s like plastic in all the good ways, but none of the bad ways. It’s amazing stuff with a really nice, natural hand-feel. It’s rigid yet flexible, extremely durable, and should last forever. And when you get dough on it, you can just throw it in the top rack of your dishwasher and you’re good to go. How to Use: As shown in the video above, dust the proofing basket generously with flour and the risen dough drops easily onto your baking surface. For proofing very wet doughs (as called for in popular no knead bread recipes), use the optional (well floured) cloth liner or follow the oil spritzing and flouring technique demonstrated in the video. Cleaning Instructions: Rinse with water. Or put your banneton in the top rack of your dishwasher.
