The first time I ever used a “Biga” in a recipe was probably close to 30 years ago.
It was a recipe for an Italian bread, and the recipe was out of one of the food magazines, can’t remember which one.
Since then I have tried some of the other preferments, including the Levain, Poolish and Pate Fermentee. The biga still remains a favourite . It is easy to make and can be made with either sourdough discard or yeast. I also like the Pate Fermentee, I just have to remember to break off a piece of dough to save for the next batch.
BIGA
60g to 80g starter (discard)
220g of Flour
220g of Water
BIGA – for a yeast version, omit starter and add
2g yeast
Mix well, cover on leave until at least double.
LEVAIN
Sourdough version:
55g Starter (discard)
55g water
142g of flour
pinch of salt
Yeast version
1g of yeast
55g water
142g of flour
pinch of salt
Knead into a smooth ball, place in a
container with a lid and leave on the counter to at least double.
Even though this is a tiny ball of dough, I do the same stretch and fold method.
PATE FERMENTEE (old dough)
This is also an easy preferment to make, because it just requires
making your dough and then after the last stretch and fold, just breaking off a 200g piece and placing it in the fridge, until the next time you make bread.
So the first time you do this, your batch of dough will be 200g smaller. But when you make the next
batch of dough you will be adding the 200g of the Pate Fermentee into your 1000g of flour and after the last stretch and fold, just remove the extra 200g. If you remember to do this each time you make a dough, you will always have a preferment in the fridge ready to go
BAGUETTE RECIPE – YEAST VERSION
(Perfect for baguettes, boules, and makes the best pizza crust)
1000g of flour
700g of water (70% hydration)
You can adjust the hydration. (see hydration chart below).
2g yeast
15g of salt (I cut the salt in half from 30g to 15 because Moe is on reduced sodium, and we have not missed the extra salt in bread)
Mix all the ingredients together. I use the autolyze, stretch and fold method.
After the first mix, leave for one hour.. Then do a series of stretch and folds, with 20 to 30 minute
rests inbetween. I usually do an additional three to four stretch and folds over the next 2 hours.
If you want to bake same day, cover the dough and leave on the counter to at least double.
I usually place the dough in the fridge and leave it anywhere from one day to 4 or 5.
Because I’m always up early, usually by 3:00AM, I take my dough out at 8:00 PM and leave it on the counter overnight. By 3:00 AM it is ready to use.
Divide, preshape, leave covered for 20 to 30 minutes, and then finish shaping, cover and leave to proof.
While the dough is proofing, preheat oven to at least 450°F. I bake at 500°F. I also bake all my baguettes on a stone. You will want to use your favourite method to add steam to your first 10 minutes of baking. Either a pan of water in the oven, or you can spray your loaves every three minutes during the first 10 minutes in the oven.
NOTE: I have a Cuisinart Convection steam oven that is a designated oven for starting all my loaves in. I have a stone in the oven, and as long as I keep the baguettes/loaves under 14″ long, I can bake two at a time, using the bread steam setting and after 10 minutes they are transferred to the stone in the range oven to finish baking. Usually another 7 to 10 minutes. This allows me to bake 6 to 8 baguettes in a shorter amount of time and they all get the benefit of steam.
BAGUETTES – SOURDOUGH VERSION
Make one of the above Preferments.
I suggest starting with the biga because it is easy to mix up.
1000g of flour
Biga
700g water
15 salt
Mix together and then follow all of the same instructions for the yeast version.
Note this batch of dough is bigger because of the addition of the Biga. Just means you can make more or larger loaves. And you can also save a piece of this dough as a Pate Fermentee for your next bake.
Both the Yeast and the Sourdough versions make the best Pizza dough.
thibeaultstable.com 