Great article! I now understand some of the differences in my recipes with starter/levain, sponge, and poolish. I guess it’s about time to try that poolish one I’ve been scared of. ;-) Thanks!
Thank you for this article it really helps. I do have one question - in the ratio of flour to water in the preferment: Is this a ratio by volume or mass? I use mass but other folks I know go by volume.
2 Questions: What is the hydration (I assume it is a range) of a "stiff" levain? What is the impact on a finished bread of using a stiff levain vs. a liquid levain?
Feb 22, 2022·edited Feb 22, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian
Preferments also give more time for the enzymes in the flour (the portion in the preferment) to act. Some starch is converted to sugars, which changes flavor (you can't have sweet and sour without the sweet!) and helps browning. Some protein is affected, which increases extensibility. (Some bakers claim that this effect is most pronounced when using a Poolish.) Enzymes get to work in both commercially and naturally leavened preferments (and in soaks without any leavening at all!).
When I took a class at SFBI we taste tested yeasted baguettes with comparable total formulas, made with straight dough (not retarded overnight), biga (stiff preferment fermented a few hours), and poolish (100% hydration, 12-hours fermentation). No one preferred the straight dough. A majority preferred the poolish.
I love the word 'poolish'.
Best news I have read all day! If I had the time today, I would call it "Wake and Bake."
Great article! I now understand some of the differences in my recipes with starter/levain, sponge, and poolish. I guess it’s about time to try that poolish one I’ve been scared of. ;-) Thanks!
Thank you for this article it really helps. I do have one question - in the ratio of flour to water in the preferment: Is this a ratio by volume or mass? I use mass but other folks I know go by volume.
2 Questions: What is the hydration (I assume it is a range) of a "stiff" levain? What is the impact on a finished bread of using a stiff levain vs. a liquid levain?
Great review! Thanks, Andrew! You never disappoint. (even if cold proofing never works for me! 😊).
I don’t have any questions right now, but that’s a really informative and useful article, Andrew. Thanks!
Preferments also give more time for the enzymes in the flour (the portion in the preferment) to act. Some starch is converted to sugars, which changes flavor (you can't have sweet and sour without the sweet!) and helps browning. Some protein is affected, which increases extensibility. (Some bakers claim that this effect is most pronounced when using a Poolish.) Enzymes get to work in both commercially and naturally leavened preferments (and in soaks without any leavening at all!).
When I took a class at SFBI we taste tested yeasted baguettes with comparable total formulas, made with straight dough (not retarded overnight), biga (stiff preferment fermented a few hours), and poolish (100% hydration, 12-hours fermentation). No one preferred the straight dough. A majority preferred the poolish.
I would like to see an article on Sprouted Flours and if formulas need to be modified when using. I mill my flour and have been using sprouted grains.
What is the percentage of sourdough starter usually in an overnight preferment ? I hear everything from 3% to 10....