Saint Germain BakeryPremium Round Bread Banneton Basket with Liner - Perfect Brotform Proofing Basket for Making Beautiful Bread - Ultimate Bundle (2x 9" basket)

This is such a great find. Everything is high quality and at an amazing price.

Although the idea is good I find I prefer to decorate my bread with a lame rather than use this method. Even though I rice floured and coated this a few times, I found that there were spots it stuck to. After working on a long ferment dough I want to be sure the final rise stays there. Others like this method. It’s a preference.

I’m new to making sour dough bread, but so far I love the proofing basket for the shape and crust it creates.

I liked the idea of a dedicated bread riser and the lines are cute on the loaf. I found that a tea towel dusted with flour works the same as this product, but without the pretty pattern. I have too much stuff and will be passing this product on.

Have fun making bread with theses bowls. Great value and easy to use.

We use this for our sour dough

I believe whether you get a good or a bad banneton greatly depends on which vendor you order from. The first one I ordered was bought from Saint Germain. It is a decent banneton with a diameter just shy of 10 inches. It is perfect for my needs (Tartine bread). The four star rating is for the banneton that I ordered first.Then I ordered another one but didn't pay attention to the vendor. Turned out that it was a different vendor (Cleansed) and it shipped from China. It arrived surprisingly quickly (less than 2 weeks) but the product is quite different from the first one. This one has a diameter of about 8.5 inches and is therefore way too small for my needs. It also has a very strong smell and since it can't be washed I wouldn't feel comfortable using it for food. This second one said made in China on it. To be fair, the quality seems to be ok, but it was not what I ordered (this really is too small). I would give this one 2 starts.Neither product had any label on it or instructions so you can't really say that the second one was a knock-off of the first but the way it is listed you would think you get the same item if you place another order.Aside from that, if you are wondering if you really need a banneton: It depends. If you don't bake often or have a small kitchen then you could skip it and instead proof your dough in a bowl or a colander.I prefer using my 10 inch banneton because it is lightweight. When I use a bowl it's harder to plop the dough into my hot Dutch oven before baking and I am afraid one day I will drop the bowl and it will break. When I use my plastic colander I am afraid one day I will get too close to the hot Dutch oven (500degree F) and it will melt.If you use the banneton without the cloth insert you will get a nice pattern on your bread. I prefer using the cloth to make cleanup easier and prevent sticking, but with the cloth the pattern is barely visible.

It's just what I needed and expected. Great quality.