What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow?

What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow? - White pills spilled on table

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. This is after I saw it hitting the top last night and stirred it down before bed. In the photo below, the "after" photo is stirred down, but still pretty bubbly, so that's not even a completely fallen volume. I never fill the jar more than 1/3 full (at flat volume).

Deadpoolish run amok all over the counter Deadpoolish stirred down occupying 1/3 of the jar

So, overnight, it at least sextupled in size.

Details: Commercial yeast 100% hydration bread flour poolish, maintained for about a month. Kitchen was probably 68F last night. I've let it rise and fall on the counter before, but the last two rest periods have been mostly in the fridge, if that matters.

So, primary question, what size jar, proportional to flat volume, should I use to be safe from overruns like this? I'd been going with 1/3 max, but then... this.

Secondary "why" questions to understand the answer:

  • Is this level of expansion normal, or at least somewhat frequent, or was this a bizarre fluke?
  • Did a counter rest after a couple fridge rests contribute to this explosion?
  • If the "Blob that ate Cincinnati" effect is expected now and then, would a biga be more predictable due to its stiffer consistency?
bakingstarterbiga


Best Answer

This is after I saw it hitting the top last night and stirred it down before bed.

You have been warned. But it's certainly not a bizzare fluke.

What could have helped the dough out:

  • at 100% hydration and low volumes you have a good chance that you get less-than-90% hydration dough by only a slight mistake in measurements; 90% dough can actually be pretty stable to support itself all the way up (especially if you have some better bread flour)
  • there might be a giant heap of nutrients left for the yeast/bacteria after 2 less-active fridge rests
  • your jar is quite narrow, which in fact provides lots of support to rising dough

In my opinion, to your original question, filling 1/3 for counter rests is on the edge, 1/4 should be okay. You can add some extra safety by having a wider jar, wetter dough, and feeding the starter much less for fridge rests (I actually always let the culture feed on the new flour for a day or two on the counter, before putting it to fridge).

About your "why"s:

  • Just 1 gram of consumed sugar produces ~0.248 litres of carbon oxide. Not bizzare at all, just a bit of bad luck that your dough was strong enough to be able to trap it. :]
  • IMO yes.
  • Biga is a short-lived starter culture, people usually don't keep it for longer than 1 day. Given there's much less water (40%) the dough usually starts to tear instead of rising very much. Btw. poolish is usually also taken to be short-lived; isn't your poolish actually sourdough-ish?


Pictures about "What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow?"

What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow? - Top view of similar small round white pills spilled from plastic container on green surface
What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow? - Closeup of similar round white pills spilled on green tissue in random order
What size of jar, proportionally, should I keep my poolish in to prevent overflow? - Pile of white pills with container


How long length of time should a poolish sit before it can be used?

Usually, poolish is fermented at room temperature, and therefore it can't have high levels of added yeast, or it may over-ferment! Ideal fermentation time for poolish is 15 to 18 hours. Poolish will look a big shaggy ball when just mixed, then it will transform into a very soupy, liquidy, almost batter-like dough.

What percentage of dough should be poolish?

HOW MUCH POOLISH TO USE IN THE DOUGH? Depending on the recipe, you can use a percentage of Poolish from 20% to 40% of the total flour's weight (from 1kg of flour to make bread, you can use 200gr to 400gr for Poolish the rest for the final dough).

How do you maintain poolish?

If you religiously feed the poolish with equal amounts of flour and water (to maintain it as a poolish) and maintain the correct temperatures, I believe the yeast should continue to be fed. But, unless you are on top of matters, at some point the yeast may start to die.

How do you slow down poolish?

slowing down a poolish
  • keep poolish flour in fridge to use it chilled.
  • use cold water from the fridge.
  • use old dough right from the fridge without letting it sit on the counter.
  • add recipe's salt to the poolish.
  • keep the poolish in a colder spot (near a window) instead of kitchen counter.



    • Laura Meyer at Pizza Expo: Ferments Biga, Poolish, Sour Dough, Making Pizza and More



    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Alex Green, Alex Green, Alex Green, Alex Green

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