Covering shaped dough
For first rise, I use those bowls covers from the dollar store (basically like shower cap).
But those are no help for the second rise when you have a shaped loaf that's not in a bowl--like a ciabatta or the like or a coupe of smaller round loaves. In that case, either a damp towel or a piece of oiled plastic is needed; for certain loaves I prefer the latter just in case of sticking.
But the main reason I use the bowl cover is that I don't want to waste plastic every time I proof. Does anyone use anything else for the shaped loaves? I was thinking maybe something like this:
So long as it had the sufficient X-Y-Z dimensions--I mean take off the lid and put this over, upside down. Or would there be too much airspace? Maybe a glass of water inside to maintain humidity?
Putting a kitchen towel (maybe slightly dampened) over the proofing bowl is enough.
But like I said, I'm not talking about dough in a proofing bowl, but a shaped loaf that ISN'T in a bowl--i.e.,waiting on the counter for its final rise before going in the oven. In such cases, a towel would rest directly on the dough.
I use a dry flour sack towel after pre-shape and final shaping. Mostly works without a hitch. I generally rest 45-60 minutes after pre-shape and 30-45 after final. Since most of my sourdough is 70-75% hydration, I have not had issues with the skin drying out or with the dough sticking to the towel. Even though you are following a no-knead recipe, you might still want to do some light shaping to develop tension in the dough’s skin.
Phil
??
i didn’t say I was doing no-knead.