Sourdough bread proofing bowl (“Banneton”) v. 2.0

It's just wonderful that you have made something so useful, so beautifully. Well done.

On a technical note, I have avoided our abundant local ash for bread bowls on the assumption that the open grain would be more likely to trap flour particles. Not sure why that would be a problem, but I worry. What do you think, Lou, now that you're using these?

Thank you Dean! I very much appreciate the comment. We haven’t used this one yet. It was only made today. But the previous had made a couple of boules. I read somewhere, I believe on the King Arthur Flour site about using a sifter to evenly coat the bowl with flour. We did that yesterday for a relatively small bread and it worked fine. It was a pretty stiff dough and it turned out of the bowl easily. Hopefully we’ll get to use this one in the next day or so. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Beautiful unique bowl. Probably already answered, but if so, missed it. What is the purpose of the "bands" and is smaller better than larger? Thought to follow your example with some ash from my stash.

Bill T Tucker said:

What is the purpose of the "bands" and is smaller better than larger?

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Bill, I think it’s mostly aesthetic. Traditionally the bannatons were baskets made from coiled cane. The wood coves I cut into the side of the bowl mimic the impressions made in the bread by the cane baskets. By the time the bread dough does it’s final rise out of the basket or bowl, the rings are probably more visual hints than deep contours, but they add interest and a bit of texture to the crust. That’s my story anyway, and I’m sticking with it. If there are any more experienced bread bakers here, I’d love to hear other spins.
Edited to add: I just thought the bands on v.1.0 were too wide, so I reduced the size in this one to more closely mimic those that would be made by a cane basket. BTW, you can buy plastic (God forbid!) bannetons as well. But no self-respecting wood turner should be caught dead with such a device.