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.