Both poolish and biga are pre-ferments. Poolish is a French name, biga an Italian term. What other differences are there between the two? Just to give some dir
I mixed my ciabatta dough 2 hours ago, and it's barely risen at all. I put it in a greased plastic container in the hot water cupboard, and marked the level to
This might seem like barbaric question, but is it possible to bring refrigerated biga up to "frisky" temperature in a microwave, without damaging it? I'm too i
I'm trying my hand at Ciabatta bread and have just made the biga in preparation for making the bread tomorrow. I followed this recipe, which calls for the foll
I've never read a biga/poolish bread recipe that specifically mentions whether or not to knead the starter dough. Is it helpful to knead it, or is it not wort
I've recently acquired a really cool bread book filled with recipes which follow this format Mix up some flour, yeast, honey, and milk into a very smooth dough
I started a plain 65% flour+water+poolish, mixed it up and left it to sit for a few hours before kneading. When I came back, I discovered I hadn't stirred all t
This morning my ongoing poolish lived up to its troublemaking name. Over half of it (by weight) ran out over the counter overnight, through the screwed-down lid
Can I substitute a biga or poolish in recipes that call for a sourdough starter? If so, what should I take into account? Will the resulting dough require a shor
I've taken up bread baking again recently, and I'm trying to improve my skills. One thing that still eludes me is how to get a less dense wholemeal loaf. I kno
I am following Tony Gemignani's recipe for Pizza dough. For making a dough with a starter, he suggests making a Biga (which he calls "Tiga", link follows). Once
I tried asking a similar question: From regular fresh yeast to sourdough and didn't exactly get real answers, so here I am asking something easier. Is there a