Bread Dough Proofing in a Basket

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Proofing the dough, before baking in the Fontana wood-fired oven is a very important step in bread baking. There are different ways to get the final proofing of the dough accomplished. Instead of proofing the dough on the countertop or on a baker's cloth, we will show you how to use a basket to get the job done.

You will need:

2 1/3 cups bread flour - 300 grams
5 2/3 cups all-purpose flour - 700 grams
Tepid water - 630 grams 63% hydrated
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast - 4 grams
1 1/2 Tablespoon salt - 20 grams

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Directions

For the final proofing you have now some options. You can either place the shaped dough ball on a flour dusted baker's cloth on your countertop, on some parchment paper, or in a lined proofing basket (banneton). For the proofing basket method lay a clean tea towel over the basket. (make sure the tea towel does not smell like detergent as the scent will permeate the dough)
Dust the tea towel resting over the proofing basket with some rice flour.
Place the dough ball upside down into the proofing basket, with the seams facing you.
Once again, dust the part of the dough ball facing you with rice flour. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the tea towel while proofing.
Carefully cover the dough with the tea towel.
I also like to place the basket into a sealed bag to prevent drying before allowing the dough to proof. As you can see, for that purpose I simply used a grocery bag. You can now let the dough proof at room temperature for about 45 minutes to one hour and then it is ready to bake.
You can also place the dough into the refrigerator overnight. In this cold environment it will still rise slowly, but additionally also develop great flavors thanks to a longer proofing time. Cold dough is also easier to score before baking.
Click HERE for the link to the full recipe on how to prepare the dough and bake the bread in the Fontana wood-fired oven.