Have you tried your hand at bread making only to find that baguette you just created tastes nothing like its bakery counterpart? Well, that may well be because you are not a trained bread artisan. You see, great Baguettes take a bit of time. Not much preparation, but time to sit, rest, and acquire extra yeast bubbles to make those gluten molecules stretch and become chewy for those delightful slices of butter that adorn their tops. So here I give you your first lesson into making great artisan bread.
Great breads start with poolish. Biga and poolish are terms for pre-ferments used in Italian and French baking, respectively, for sponges made with domestic baker’s yeast. Poolish is a fairly wet sponge (typically made with a one-part-flour-to-one-part-water ratio by weight), while biga is usually drier. Bigas can be held longer at their peak than wetter sponges, while a poolish is one known technique to increase a dough’s extensibility.
The primary difference between making bread with a starter and making
bread with the direct or straight yeast method is that starter breads require much more time to prepare, but the flavor and texture of the bread is almost impossible to achieve with other leavening methods. Bread made with starters like poolish and biga also tends to keep better, compared to bread made from straight doughs.
To make poolish:
1/4 tsp. yeast
1/3 cup water
Add yeast to water and let sit for an 1/2 hour till yeast begins to bubble.
3/4 cup flour (preferably bread flour)
Add to yeast mixture, mix well, and let stand 3 hours or covered overnight on counter.
Add to bowl:
1/4 tsp. yeast
2/3 cup water
Mix this together before adding to bowl.
1 cup flour
Mix well, let stand covered 12 hours.
In a separate bowl:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp yeast
3/4 cup + 2 tab. water
1 3/4 tsp. salt
Mix water and yeast together. Add to flour in bowl. Mix slightly. Add poolish and salt. Mix well. Knead for 10 minutes allowing dough to become elastic under fingertips. Separate into two loaves. Place on baking sheet, cover with towel and rise for 2-3 hours until doubled. Bake at 450 degrees until brown.
Oh, how superb dinner will be!
The primary difference between making bread with a starter and making
bread with the direct or straight yeast method is that starter breads require much more time to prepare, but the flavor and texture of the bread is almost impossible to achieve with other leavening methods. Bread made with starters like poolish and biga also tends to keep better, compared to bread made from straight doughs.
To make poolish:
1/4 tsp. yeast
1/3 cup water
Add yeast to water and let sit for an 1/2 hour till yeast begins to bubble.
3/4 cup flour (preferably bread flour)
Add to yeast mixture, mix well, and let stand 3 hours or covered overnight on counter.
Add to bowl:
1/4 tsp. yeast
2/3 cup water
Mix this together before adding to bowl.
1 cup flour
Mix well, let stand covered 12 hours.
In a separate bowl:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp yeast
3/4 cup + 2 tab. water
1 3/4 tsp. salt
Mix water and yeast together. Add to flour in bowl. Mix slightly. Add poolish and salt. Mix well. Knead for 10 minutes allowing dough to become elastic under fingertips. Separate into two loaves. Place on baking sheet, cover with towel and rise for 2-3 hours until doubled. Bake at 450 degrees until brown.
Oh, how superb dinner will be!
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