Whiteley Creek Homestead

When the headquarters for King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont was designed, large viewing windows were included so that visitors could watch bakers at work. My youngest grandson and I were especially inquisitive about stacks of coil-wound wooden baskets. We stood at the bakery's observation window long enough to learn their application.

To make a rustic loaf shape called a "boule," a baker deftly forms chunks of dough into balls then places them into fabric-lined, flour dusted, round brotform bread proofing baskets for the dough's final rise before baking. According to the King Arthur website, "the removable liner gives you the option of making a plain loaf or one that has the imprint of the coils."

We also observed a baker shape dough into long, French bread-like pieces then place each within the folds of a heavy linen or canvas sort of fabric to rise. I learned the fabric is called a "baker's couche." It is used to make baguettes.