What is the difference between a poolish and a biga?
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 direction: are there differences in making them? Can you both keep them as long? How does the dough feel with it? What difference does it make in the end result? Is there a difference in flavour/colour/texture?
Best Answer
I had to consult my copy of Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart to be sure, but here is a quote:
There are two types of firm, or dry, pre-ferments and two types of wet pre-ferments. The firm pre-ferments are known as pâte fermentée and biga. The wet pre-ferments are called poolish and levain levure.
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Biga, an italian style of firm pre-ferment, differs from pâte fermentée in that it doesn't have any salt in it. Also, rather than cutting off a piece of finished bread dough to hold back as an improver, a biga is made specifically to be used as a pre-ferment.
So, it seems the main difference lies in the hydration of the dough, where a poolish is made with a ratio of equal water and flour. There also seems to be a few other differences. A biga apparently uses .5 percent yeast to flour, while a poolish uses .25 percent.
Mr Reinhart does not say anything about a concrete difference in final result between these methods - just that a 'wet' pre-ferment is faster. Faster in the sense that in the same time-frame a poolish will develop more flavor and character than a dry pre-ferment.
Sadly I've personally only used a wet pre-ferment, since it is easier to handle. Just whisk it prior to bed time with a wire whisk and mix in the rest of the ingredients the next day. Having a full blown dough makes it more difficult to incorporate the rest of the ingredients.
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Quick Answer about "What is the difference between a poolish and a biga?"
Poolish has a loose consistency and is typically made with equal parts water and flour with a small percentage of commercial yeast. Biga, which is more like a dough than a batter, has a lower hydration than poolish and sponge, which is mostly used for enriched doughs, contains milk, eggs, butter, and/or sugar.What is better biga or poolish?
Generally speaking, a poolish is quicker and easier and it can be made with medium-strength flours. A biga takes longer because it needs a longer fermentation time and you have to be more careful controlling the temperature.Is poolish drier than biga?
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.What advantage is there to making a biga or poolish for a bread when you can skip this step to make a bread?
Therefore the advantage of using Poolish is to have a shorter fermentation time than the Biga. Moreover, the use of Poolish in the preparation of homemade bread will result in a higher crispness and smaller but regular alveoli. On the contrary, Biga requires a longer time to ripe (about 12/16 hours).Is biga the same as starter?
The yeasted pre-ferment (poolish and biga) serves a single use while the sourdough starter is perpetuated indefinitely. The Poolish and Biga is only prepared whenever the baker wishes to bake bread. Once the Poolish and Biga ripens, everything is incorporated into the dough to be baked.Everything you need to know 100% POOLISH vs BIGA ⎮Full Dough Recipes
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