Bannetons

When properly dusted with flour, this inexpensive rattan banneton released lower-hydration doughs well. Its corresponding cotton liner was great for proofing higher-hydration doughs, ensuring that they didn’t stick. Over time, both the banneton and the liner built up “seasoning” that made them release dough more easily than they did at first, too. As with any equipment made from natural materials, it does require a little extra care, but we think it’s worth it. Used without the liner, the banneton imprints an attractive coil pattern on the dough; used with it, you get a blank canvas to show off your scoring.

Like its round sibling, this oval rattan banneton was great for proofing stiffer, lower-hydration doughs. When coupled with its cotton liner and properly seasoned, it easily released wetter, higher-hydration doughs. Both became more seasoned and nonstick over time. As with any natural-fiber equipment, the banneton and liner do require a little care, but we think they’re worth that effort. Between the bare banneton, which gives your bread a nice coiled pattern, and the banneton paired with the liner, which provides a clean slate for scoring, you have two great decorating options.

Liner Available for Purchase at: breadtopia.com

This rattan banneton and cotton liner set performed very similarly to our winner, though it costs nearly twice as much. The floured banneton released lower-hydration doughs easily and imprinted attractive coils on the finished bread. The liner helped ensure an easy release with wetter, higher-hydration doughs and gave us a clean slate to do our most fancy scoring patterns. As with our other winners, you’ll just need to put a little care into keeping both banneton and liner clean and mold-free because they’re made from natural fibers.

We were amazed at how effortlessly doughs of all hydration levels released from this wood pulp banneton, no seasoning necessary. Like all natural-fiber equipment, this banneton requires some care to maintain, but we think it’s a great option for bakers who work with especially high-hydration doughs and are concerned about sticking. The only issue: Because you never need a liner with this banneton, your finished bread will always have the grid-like imprint of the banneton, which limits your decorative options and can distract from any fancy scoring patterns you might like to do.

The oval version of our favorite easy-to-use banneton performed just as well as its round sibling, releasing even the wettest doughs easily, with no sticking. If you work with high-hydration doughs and prefer an oval loaf, this is a fantastic option. As with any natural-fiber equipment, you’ll need to give it a bit more care, but we think this is a small price to pay. Just be mindful that as with the round version, your finished bread will always have the imprint of the banneton, which can distract from any fancy scoring patterns you might like to do.

This plastic banneton was especially easy to clean—it can even be washed in the dishwasher. Unlike natural-fiber bannetons, it dries quickly, so it will never develop mold. But because it’s made of slick plastic, dough stuck to it mercilessly, even when we did our best to coat the basket-like slats with flour. If you spring for this banneton, you’ll need to use the manufacturer’s linen liner, limiting your decorative options—because you can’t use the banneton on its own, you’ll never be able to get a nice spiral-shaped imprint from its slats. The linen liner itself, though, is excellent, releasing doughs of different hydration levels well, especially after it had gained some seasoning.

Liner Available for Purchase at: tmbbaking.com

The linen liner came permanently attached to its wicker banneton, making both the liner and the banneton a little trickier to clean—we were never quite sure that the banneton was clean under the liner. Because we always had to use the liner, our decorative options were slightly more limited—there’s no way to get that pretty imprint from the banneton on its own. But otherwise this set performed very well, especially after the liner had built up a good layer of seasoning, releasing doughs of different hydration levels easily.