Could someone please recommend a place to buy a brotform? I've seen them on Amazon, but I'm not sure about the quality of the ones sold there and also the pricing.
Hoping one of you savvy homebakers can point me in the direction of a bakery supply store that sells great quality products at decent prices. I've snagged so many deals buying in bulk at webstaurantstore, but they don't carry these.
Thanks!
If you want to buy in bulk, Lucky Clover Trading seems to always pop up in the discussion. They used to be super, super cheap for bulk buying(less than $10 each, min order $50), but they seem to have caught on and are not quite that cheap any more.
Other places(not necessarily for bulk):
SFBI.com brotform.com breadtopia.com fantes.com
among others.
I bought about 3 brotforms and 4 linen lined baskets a few months back from Lucky Clover Trading. I would strongly suggest you check out their website. Still much cheaper than Amazon, etc., especially if you live in the US. I am in Canada and was kind of surprised with the high shipping charges. I am happy with the product though.
John
I don't know where you are, but I use bakerybits quite a lot; their service is great.
Thanks so much. I've heard of fantes and know they carry solid products, but I wanted better prices.
I'll check out the sites mentioned.
Lucky Clover's prices are quite low, but they do not include liners. Where can I get liners or what did you guys use?
Do I even need the liners when proofing? I guess I can always save money and use a regular linen sheet.
Thx!
If you want to use liners, you don't need brotforms, any basket or bowl of appropriate size and shape will do just fine, and yes, it does not need to be tailored - a piece of linen will do.
The baskets i purchased from Luck Clover included liners. Unless they discontinued them.
John
I'll probably pass on the fitter liners and stick to any old linen. But I do like the look of the brotforms - makes me look like a pro.
I'm a gadget freak though and the more basic the better.
If anything, coiled brotforms tend to exagerrate every imperfection of the bread. Sort of like incorrectly chosen stripe pattern will highlight a shape of the body.
So you're saying the traditional brotforms could be an issue?
This link on their website is an example.
http://www.luckyclovertrading.com/savannah-medium-round-utility-with-cloth-liner-p-3580.html
Just go in the search to the website and type 'bread'
Many different baskets with linen liners come up. If you are ordering brotforms, you might as well pick up some lined baskets as well. It is nice to have both options when baking breads.
John
I like the look of the traditional brotforms so I'll probably stick to those. I saw other threads regarding LC and it appears the quality of the brotforms decreased while their price increased. Is this really the case?
I'd rather go with a good quality product rather than have to deal with splinters in my bread.
Thx.
I have absolutely no issues with the products I received from LC. No splinters, nothing. My only problem was the high shipping cost since I am in Canada.
John
Thanks.