I have new bannetons and almost didn't press them into service today because I have no rice flour and so many sources claim that's what you need to avoid sticking. A small thing but when Jack says "I'm not going to go out and buy rice flour just to keep my dough from sticking," me heart leapt. Finally someone who appreciates the fact that saving a bit of money remains, for some of us, one of the great joys in doing things for yourself!

Jack, I'm 54 years old, and my grandma taught me how to make bread when I was about 10. I've been baking my whole life as a hobby, and I've tried just about every kind of bread--it is a really fun hobby, and matches up with my other hobby-homebrewing!. All that being said, I've learned so much watching your videos. My grandma was a GREAT baker--she was the wife of a dairy farmer, and baked for her family, her neighbors, the church bake sales, etc. She had been baking for over 50 years when she taught me! Her bread was sort of famous in her community--it was uniquely delicious, with an amazing crust, and an open, toothy crumb (even though it was a yeast bread--NOT a sourdough). She wasn't a "scientist", or a professional baker--she was a farmer's wife, just trying to feed the people she loved. I learned a lot from her, but you really satisfy the "nerd" in me, with all your fantastic technical information, and all the great professional baking tips, that we can use for home baking. Thanks for a great channel, and keep it up. Even an old-school veteran home baker like me can learn a lot from you, and your videos are helping me to grow, expand, and improve my baking skills!

He is relatable. He is professional. He is amazing.

Amateur Baker here. Essentially agree with everything said here. I like to get a nice skin on my dough with a 24-hour cold proofing in the fridge before baking. The banneton is dusted liberally with rice flour before the shaped dough is placed in it and into the fridge. I bake in a Dutch oven so tend to flour it liberally with bread flour first (once hot) then rice flour to limit the blackening of the bottom of the loaf. To get the rice flour, I actually use a refurbished Krupps coffee grinder that had fallen into disuse. I put it on the finest setting and just grind a little bit of the basmati rice I have in the cupboard as and when I need it. I then just put that in a cheap flour shaker I picked up from IKEA. You don't use a lot so you don't miss whatever you grind. I like the crunchy finish that rice flour lends to the crust so I sprinkle on top too before scoring and misting with water. After baking and cooking I tend to scrape off any excess flour on the bottom of the loaf. Works for me!

I watch your videos multiple times, repeatedly, and every time I learn something new as I’m at different stage of learning to bake. This is amazing

I’m new to this whole sourdough thing and I’ve watched so many videos and read so many blogs that I must admit has me literally confused! Your videos are so simple, straight forward and to the point. Thank you so much for telling me that I don’t have to go buy rice flour! I want my bread making to be fun and as stress free as possible. So thanks again Jack for posting such awesome videos and giving great advice!👍🏼😊🥖

Finally someone who tells you EVERYTHING.! Makes so much sense Thank you Jack!

You have changed my bread baking life. No more experimenting with different flours, no more tons of flour sticking in the bannetons and on the loaf and best of all, no anxiety about whether a loaf will stick. They ALL come out perfectly. Thanks for all your tips and your enthusiasm for home bakers. Very inspiring. In exchange, here's another tip that was a revelation to me. When using a Dutch oven, you don't have to preheat it. You don't even have to preheat the oven itself (but don't forget to turn it on). Makes getting the dough into the Dutch oven much easier.

Thank you so much Jack. You always share something that helps me to solve bit more of the mystery. Today's video was phenomenal, thank you for taking the time to really describe the importance of developing that skin straight away with the first shaping. I can wrap my mind around how this is a building process, and is a gamechanger. I will adjust my intention with today's shaping. My favorite part of today's video though was watching you dust the excess flour with the brush... I am totally going to indulge in that. What a delight! Happy Valentines Day!

Thank you so much!!! Finally had a loaf that didn't stick, been going off other recipes that recommended lining the basket and said not to use much flour. Much less stressful bake today not spending 30 mins peeling off the linen. You're a life saver!!

The little semolina chappy-boy, I’m entertained and learning. You are too adorable!

👏👏👏😎Insightful as ever Jack and totally compelling. Thank you for your time and effort in compiling this valuable video library resource "Every Single Thursday". We, your humble followers are thankful for your presence and enthusiasm. It rocks! YOU rock! Kind regards. Roy. 👏👏👏😉

98% of the bread I make is sourdough. After trying several dusting substances to address the basket-sticking challenge, my favorite is a little wheat germ I sift out of a cup of the whole-milled flour I'm using for the dough. It's plenty course enough to do the job, and it has a great look on the finished loaf. Thanks for your videos!

THANK YOU! I was about to give up on my baskets all together! This is a brilliant video. Thanks again. 👍🙏

This is easily your most informative video yet! Thanks for all the help fella if it wasn't for this channel I wouldn't be baking such delicious bread.

Damn brother. First video I've seen, but this one was exactly what I needed today. Minutes before I watched I was like, "I gotta buy rice flour?!?" Thanks brother!

Dude, you're amazing !!! I am a Brazilian cook now living in Germany and here I discovered a hole new world of bread. And since I started making sour dough, I have this problem, which led me to reduce hydration to 60%. Usually I tend to think technically, but I was not getting hit. Thanks and congratulations for sharing your knowledge!

Brilliant video. Very informative, well laid out and brilliant presentation. Thank you! That end point was key. Experience shows there.

This was so super helpful not just about the dough not sticking, great explanation and run down of the whole process:) Excellent, thanks

jack you have had a big hand in improving my dough and my understanding of dough. you are very helpful, thank you! specifically on this video i've been going crazy with my banneton sticking and making dodgy loves. this video was super helpful! thanks!!

Hi jack, u r always worth watching. I always pick up something useful/helpful. 🙏

Another belter Jack. For anyone of a certain age who was made to eat semolina pudding at school 🥵 it’s just semi-milled flour ie about half the milling that other flours get. It's recommended for putting on a pizza peel to help it slide off, a bit like a layer of ball bearings. I also use it on the base of pies etc whether blind baked pastry or not; it absorbs some of the filling's liquid to prevent a soggy bottom. Another thing: you mentioned rice flour and this, mixed into a paste with water, is what’s used to make Tiger Bread. The paste is spread on the loaf before baking and can’t stretch so cracks and splits giving the effect. 👨🏻‍🎓😃

Jack, thank you very much for this video. I just had my DUH! moment when you talked about not using a plastic bowl. It is the only think I currently have to proof my bread in the icebox over night. Now I understand why it stuck to the cloth. The first time it stuck to the cloth so bad that I lost about half my loaf. I was able to salvage some. The second time I was able to get the cloth off, but I will lost some. Definitely going to get me a good proofing basket. Thanks again for all of the videos you have done. I am slowly working my way through them.

Followed jacks tip , had the best oven spring iv'e ever had.It's all in the shaping and surface tension .Got it now ,Cheers Jack.

Thanks Jack, this is really helpful. I’ve never put the dough in the fridge, but might be brave and try.

They sell the bannetons with a linen liner. I use the liner as a cover when I put the dough in the fridge.

Thank you Jack! You helped me figure out why my dough in the fridge develops so much moisture recently , I cover it with plastic film! I used to cover it w tea towel until recently. But the bread remains ‘delish’ but was just having a hard time coming out of the banneton . Thanks so much!

Another very useful video; so happy to discover I can do without the rice flour👍! Thank's Jack and happy Valentine to you😘

I love the "Excess" flour. It adds an extra depth of flavor on the crust. Just my preference.

Jack I always learn so much from you and your videos! Thanks! I just got a couple of bannetons several weeks ago and you’ve confirmed my experience and explained exactly what is going on. Please keep up the magnificent work!

A really big thanks for this learning video. Just the point I’m needing to work on. Excellent even x

Thank you!! I suddenly have had this issue and I switch up part of my method... I think this video hit the nail on the head!❤

YOU..Jack are one of the most knowledgeable & entertaining Bread Guru

You really deserve more subscribers ! Always good explanations and good advices.

watching this as my 90% hydration loaf proofs

This makes sense to me. So much of what I hear about baking sourdough makes my eyebrows go up. Do we really imagine people centuries and more ago were using digital scales, thermometers, ph measuring gadgets, and had the ability to be super picky about their flour let alone have access to rice flour in regions where rice was not grown? Much of what I see online is information that comes from large scale commercial bakery’s that obviously have different production expectations and parameters than the at home baker. I just want a reliably good bread. I’ve learned a lot from your channel and appreciate information like that presented in this video. It helps me to understand what is going on in the process and why and that information arms me to be able to manage what is happening right in front of me in my home kitchen where elements are changing constantly. Cheers 😊

Yesssss! Thanks for the post bake shots :) look incredible.

I am new here and just subscribed. I bought into the rice flour thing and it didn’t work because I left it overnight in a plastic bag like the recipe said to. No more! Thank you so much!

I actually have learned so much in this year about the science of baking bread from creating and keeping a starter, using different flours, the best temperatures, cooking on a stone with a cloche, loaf pan, cast iron Dutch oven… tonight my loaf stuck to a banner in for the first time. I was mortified coaxing it out to see it look defeated on the parchment….Next time I will generously dust!!!!

I did buy a bag of rice flour just for dusting for my... 92% hydration hearth loaf! (I'm still surprised I pulled it off) Hey, I was trying to cover every possible base... (I have cane bannetons) One word of caution: DO NOT clean your banneton after use!!! DO NOT EVER scrub it - unless you actually see mold, in which case, you do have to scrub it and start over. Let it dry after each use and mold should not be a problem. A well seasoned banneton, like a well seasoned cast iron skillet, is a joy. Good advice overall. My last two (hand kneaded) loaves have been 72% hydration (2/3 all purpose, 1/6 whole meal, 1/6 high gluten) and they were very nice.

Thank you Jack , that was so helpful. It makes sense, wonderful!

Jack is so smart!!! Learned something new today!

Why was this so amusing😂 but totally informative!! Tk u so much :))

My man bringing the good stuff!!

thank you so much for this . . . hopefully tomorrow's bake won't be stuck - I think my issue has been the skin not being thick enough . . . huge thanks for all these videos - love them

Thanks Jack! So helpful! I’ve had this disaster a few times - If I leave overnight (10 hours) it sounds like that might not be enough to create a proper skin. Thanks again!

So it's not the stuff in the box, it's not how much of it you toss in, it's the skin - the final element of structure that I need to make happen. Structure is such a useful concept to work with. When I baked my first loaf - too many years ago - cookery books told you what flour to use, quantities, temperatures, how long to knead etc. but they never explained the aims of it all, so when I ended up with a brick I really couldn't see too many ways to improve - I learnt to enjoy bricks. You've fixed that! You - and weighing the water...

Thank you Jake. I just purchased some banneton baskets and just used them today and my dough stuck to the inside of the baskets and I was at the point to just buy some rice flour, which is silly just if it is only to dust the basket. I'll do what you said and next week put it in the frig without wrapping them so the outside can get hard. Thank you!

Nice. I started with the rice flour many moons ago, although I never had a sticky problem, because in recipes it mentioned it 'helped' or it was the 'professional' way. One of the two, hey probably both! I then discovered I like the extra texture it gives on the top of the crust so I still use it just for that purpose. A bag goes a very very long way.

2 words: Rice flour.. I've worked as a professional baker for 11 years now and not once has rice flour let me down, give it a go.. blend of rice and white also works well :)

As you mentioned the flour is secondary, however I must say I have had great results with rice flour on 80+% hydration loaves where a thick skin can impede the crust. And I didn't have to buy it especially, I just milled a little white rice in a Nutribullet! (I don't own a food processor)

Thank God I found this❤ I've been making sourdough for about 5 months now 😔

I just put two loaves in the frig with plastic on top and now I see your video. Running to the Kitchen!!!

Thank you for the tip! Now I understand why my dough stuck to the vessel even though i dusted it liberally. I wrapped the vessel in plastic bag before storing it into the fridge. That created condensation and resulted in the dough sucking up all the flour i use to dust and stuck to the vessel.

Great post! I hadn't actually thought about it like this but whenever I've had minor sticking problems (very minor, as I'm so heavy with the flour), it's been because the shaping has been awful and I've torn the outer membrane, and/or when I've covered with plastic. The last couple I've put in the fridge completely uncovered... they didn't explode! I don't bother covering anymore, one less thing to faff around with. People never seem to mention the importance of the non-stick membrane when it comes to this... thanks for sharing!

Looking forward to trying these tips out. Thank you.

Thank you so much Jack!!! I wish I could send you photos of how my bread looks now, I feel so professional 😁... I went searching on how to flour your banneton without rice flour and found you... BOOM!!! I hit the like button and subbed 🥰

You're going to cry mutiny, but I butter my narrow but tall glass bowl. My main reason for this is that for dental reasons I have to have a soft crust. I really appreciate your explanation of letting it sit in the fridge to form that initial "crust" so to speak and will give that a go. Thanks!

Brilliant advice Jack. I didn't know that the pre-shape/shape stage was to allow a skin to be formed. Presumably this will make it a lot easier to slash as well. At the moment slashing my dough is like slashing freshly chewed gum...and that's not easy!

Hmm.... that is the first time I have heard a sensible reason and understanding of why the banneton stuck the first time I tried it, ever since I put the covers in and dusted them with flour so if it was a bit sticky I could peel it off carefully. So now I'm going back to naked banneton! And covered with only the cloth in the fridge instead of a plastic bag to see if that improves my proofing experience. Thank you Jack!

Thanks for your explanation! I have been wondering why the social media bakers often suggest wrapping the banneton with a plastic bag or shower cap. In my experience, lots of moisture gets trapped inside the bag making the top wet. I started adding a kitchen towel to absorb the condensation. Now you have confirmed my suspicion that this plastic wrapping method is not good!

Makes sense. I have been using plastic box, lined with cotton cloth. I see condensation after 12 hours in fridge. Thanks.

Love your videos Jack! I was sad you didn’t touch on using cloth lined bannetons. I switched to the linen liner to help build a skin because short of using a pile of flour, I seemed to often get sticking. So far it has worked well. I, and I’m certain many others, would love your input on using cloth liners. Pros n Cons. Thanks

Hey Jack, If you make us a simple start to finish sourdough recipe, I'll buy 10 of those dough scrapers and give them away to my friends and family. I'd love to see your expertise in providing a simple to follow, yet delicious recipe for a sourdough loaf.

Many many thanks! You are great! Thanks for sharing your experience!

GREAT SUCCESS! Great video bud.

This is amazing, thank you so much!!!!

I don't use rice flour either but seems like everyone on youtube, well everyone except you, uses it. Glad I'm not missing out on something. I'm a beginner, only made 2 loaves and haven't really had much of a problem with it sticking yet. My most recent loaf stuck a little bit but not too bad.

Thanks for the tips. I use 1/2 AP Flour and 1/2 Corn Meal on my proofing basket.

It’s just dawned on me now you’ve explained! My last few loaves have stuck, and it’s because I’ve been using cling film recently instead of the teatowel! Simple when it’s pointed out to you, thanks :)

Great video, Jack. I use rice flour and shake it in with a handled icing sugar shaker. Such even distribution with it. I like semolina and oats, too. Oats by hand, of course 😊

Hugely helpful as always!

Thank you very much bro, straight to the useful point 👌

Thanks for this tutorial!👍🇩🇪 If it sticks or not is a question of hydration.

I like to use proofing baskets made from pressed wood, there are several advantages in the home bakery, but a main one is, that they only need a slight coding of flour, so nothing sticks - so I also don't need to get rid off the excess flour off the bread. But I don't know how easy or difficult they are to get outside of of germany. A basket with a cloth inlet also works very well, only a slight coting of flour is enogugh then. But you are of course right, a skin is the thing you want. Not to dry and thick or something, that's not productive, but a very slight non stick surface will do wonders. I also sometimes use rattan baskets for long fermentation (altough I'm more the first proof cold guy). And I usually not tend to have any problems with it.

Just the right video for me 😂. Thank-you!!

Great video man! Would love to see how you shaped those sourdough loaves, apologies if you've already got a video up and I just haven't found it!

Uh oh. Banneton? Never made a sourdough before and was recently inspired to create a starter after watching Jacks videos about it. Love that he makes it so accessible for the lay person. Every other blog and video I’ve seen about it says “do it exactly...measure just right...don’t forget or else!” But Jacks approach is “ just do it and don’t stress!” Love that. So uh yeah I jumped right in and am at day 5 of my (slow growing winter time) starter and just now realize after watching this video that I’m going to need one of these baskets. So I guess I’m going shopping. Since I bake in an extra large toaster oven, I can’t make a full sized loaf (a standard bread pan bread burns on top). I always split my dough into half sized baby loaves. Is there a banneton that is small like that for me? What would be a half size?

thanks, this is what I was looking for

Brilliant hints . Thank you from Kuwait ♥️👌

I have learned a lot. What I need to know is what size proofing baskets to use for a one or two pound loaf.

All this fuss when there is such an easy MODERN solution! I did not want to cake up my new bannetons with flour. I line them with Glad Press 'n Seal wrap (sticky side down of course), spray with Pam, dust heavily with flour place the floured dough inside and leave to rise. Not only does the dough NOT stick, my baskets stay new AND I still those lovely artisan bread lines!

Excellent as always!

i'll toss the dough in the fridge uncovered the next time i'm baking during the work week. and hope others don't complain about it. :) Don't have problem with sticky dough but just to experiment.

Great explanation!! Thanks

Thank you!!! Makes perfect sense 👍🏻🙌🏻

Thanks, Jack! That was really helpful!!! Fix my life next

Wish I had seen this 2 hours ago. I JUST pitched 2 days worth of work in the trash can after my beautiful pane casereccio di genzano completely glued itself to my banneton. If curse words could unstick dough, my entire kitchen would have been Teflon.

VERY HELPFUL! Thank you!

I just oncovered the resting sourdough in the refrigerator. It had a plastic cover that was holding in moisture leaving the dough wet on top. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow when I bake and easier to remove, as you suggest. Thanks!

It needs to be breathable!!! 💡💡 Thank you, Jack!

I am stunned by how your dough doesn’t spread out on the board while it’s sitting there

Super helpful!

I make rice flour in the vitamix all the time to use for breadiings, . As a beginning baker ill try it in my baskets.

Good video. Thank you for sharing. I wish you made a video about cleaning proving basket.

Thanks many many thanks for making this video.

Super helpful! Thanks

Love it !!! Thank you 🙏🏽

I have heard to use rye flour, just because it doesn't get brown in the oven, but stays white. I have covered my bannetons with plastic shower caps, but will switch to a cloth instead. Because it does stick a little bit, and now you have explained why. Thank you! Bread baking is really tough. So much that can fail, and it often does. And then I see the english, the french and the americans complain about this and that. Well, bread containing only 99,9% or more of white bread flour, how on earth can that fail? Then try to bake norwegian or german bread, full of course flours and wholegrains and whole kernels, seeds, rye, barley, oats and what not. That is seriously way more difficult, especially when trying to use as much wholegrain as possible, preferably 100%. But also can be sort of easy, if you follow true and tested recipes (which I almost never do) with a high percentage of white wheat. But those english/american/french all-white-wheat-only breads, if that is not fool proof, I don't know what is. What I really struggle with now, is how and what to add as a fiber additive. I have tried bran, with little success (too much bran, and you have a brick). I have tried psyllium husk powder, which makes bread very moist, but it doesn't destroy the rising. Whole psyllium seeds work better, but they are quite hard when just dumped in the flour, and soaking them makes the gelly you get from psyllium powder, and a moist bread. But not as moist as the powder. The next I will try is to soak the psyllium powder in oil, so that they hopefully not can soak up water. We'll see how that goes. Psyllium is really great for the stomach, but a pain to bake with. But do you know of any good fiber additive that works well in bread making?

100k subs. Congrats