First a picture of Sunday’s No Knead bread then a little background.

I’ve owned a banneton for at least eight years. I know that because I have a blog post from 2016 that talks about me baking with two of them. Somehow I never got the message that they’re supposed to be seasoned to prevent sticking. The ones I purchased didn’t come with instructions. I just happened to be reading about a banneton related topic and a very small light bulb went off in my head. So I thought I’d see what banneton care and feeding was supposed to be.

Bannetons are supposed to be seasoned. The method is:

1. Spritz the banneton with oil or water. (I lightly rinsed mine in water then shook it out well — I didn’t want oil going rancid at some point.)
2. Sprinkle some AP flour or rice flour or a combo of the two into the banneton and angle it around until the flour coats the inside. Shake out the excess flour.
3. Use a little more flour with every bake.
4. Air dry the banneton after every use, preferably in the sun to prevent any unwanted molds from populating the flour.
5. Store the banneton in an airtight bag or container to keep bugs from taking up residence.
6. If too much flour builds up then sweep it out with a stiff brush.

That’s it. Any crevices or tiny cracks in the banneton are now basically non-stick.

Below is another picture of that same bread because I couldn’t decide which I liked better. The light is from the back rather than the side.

The bread is 75% hydration with no additional “handling flour” added to the dough itself and it didn’t stick at all. (Recipe here. Or use the Menu above to go to the No Knead page.)

Other notes — I’ve stopped using bench flour or a Silpat when preparing a No Knead — I use a tablespoon or two of oil on the counter and spread it around with a paper towel. If the dough tries to stick to the counter I just lift the dough with a bench scraper, though generally it doesn’t stick.

The other advantage of using oil on the counter is that I can then used the oiled paper towel to rub a bit of sheen on any other tools that are coming into contact with the dough. I rub a little on a spatula to help remove the dough from the mixing bowl to the counter. I rub a little on a serrated bread knife for any slashes that I want to make on the dough prior to baking. In the picture above I used five slashes around the “waist” of the dough, the splits on top were caused the dough naturally expanding where the seams were gathered up as the dough was placed into the banneton. I also used a Le Creuset bread oven rather than a traditional dutch oven for this bake — that made it so I could easily get to the sides of the dough after it was removed from the banneton.

I’ve gone years of using bannetons with some trepidation and drama for no real reason. Here’s celebrating finally learning something, even if it was mostly by chance.