Biga (bread baking)

Biga is a type of pre-fermentation used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian breads, including ciabatta, are made using a biga.^[1] Using a biga adds complexity to the bread's flavor^[2]^[3] and is often used in breads that need a light, open texture with holes. Apart from adding to flavor and texture, a biga also helps to preserve bread by making it less perishable.^[4]

Biga techniques were developed after the advent of baker's yeast as bakers in Italy moved away from the use of sourdough and needed to recover some of the flavor that was given up in this move. Bigas are usually dry and thick compared to a sourdough starter. This thickness is believed to give a biga its characteristic slightly nutty taste. Biga is usually made fresh every day, using a small amount of baker's yeast in a thick dough, which ranges 45–90% hydration as a baker's percentage, and is allowed to ferment from 12 to 16 hours to fully develop its flavor.

For some home bakers, biga is used to refer to naturally leavened sourdough made with a stiff starter, without using baker's yeast.

Etymology

For this leavening the term "poolish" is sometimes used, which derives from the mispronunciation of the English "Polish" or the German "polnisch". It probably derives from the fact that the biga was known in Poland, and was learned by Austro-Hungarian bakers thanks to the Poles; from there it arrived in England.

References

^ "Preferments—and How to Adapt Any Bread Recipe to Use One". Food52. 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
^ "Herb Bread with Biga | King Arthur Baking". www.kingarthurbaking.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
^ Forkish, Ken (2012). Flour water salt yeast : the fundamentals of artisan bread and pizza. Alan Weiner (First ed.). Berkeley: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. pp. 30–33. ISBN 978-1-60774-273-9. OCLC 772137147.
^ Balestra, Federica; Pinnavaia, Gian Gaetano; Romani, Santina (2015). "Evaluation of the Effects of Different Fermentation Methods on Dough Characteristics". Journal of Texture Studies. 46 (4): 262–271. doi:10.1111/jtxs.12124. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

External links

The Artisan on indirect baking

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[1] "Preferments—and How to Adapt Any Bread Recipe to Use One". Food52. 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2021-10-19.

[2] "Herb Bread with Biga | King Arthur Baking". www.kingarthurbaking.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.

[3] Forkish, Ken (2012). Flour water salt yeast : the fundamentals of artisan bread and pizza. Alan Weiner (First ed.). Berkeley: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. pp. 30–33. ISBN 978-1-60774-273-9. OCLC 772137147.

[4] Balestra, Federica; Pinnavaia, Gian Gaetano; Romani, Santina (2015). "Evaluation of the Effects of Different Fermentation Methods on Dough Characteristics". Journal of Texture Studies. 46 (4): 262–271. doi:10.1111/jtxs.12124. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

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