(not) like a knife through butter

Three cities. Three specialist cook shops. No luck.

I thought I may find a banneton or proving basket somewhere in Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield. The cook shops were full of lovely shiny things but when I enquired about proving baskets I got blank looks. When I explained what they were for, the Leeds shop assistant exclaimed that though they were not afraid of a niche market, this product was still too specialised for them. So much for the great real bread revival.

I have seen them advertised on the internet so I guess that's my next move. Until then, I'll persist with Mick's advice to use a floured tea towel in a mixing bowl.

I did just this last weekend, I had tried to make one of Mick's classic soughdough breads (50-50 wholemeal to white flour) though I upped the hydration a little to get a wetter dough with the idea of a more holey bread. I also used the folding method I had seen on Carl's blog in his excellent how to make sourdough post. The bread proved just nicely and as I tipped the risen dough out onto the baking tray it was holding its shape... until I mangled it with the knife. The knife had been fine with drier doughs but this time it just stuck and dragged horribly. Should have used a razor blade... should have remembered to buy some... should have bought a grignette by now... The dough splurged across the baking tray, as deflated as I was.

The loaf still tasted fine... but room for improvement!