pre-ferment

The secret to great bread is old dough. Not the “hey, I found this package of ready-bake biscuits at the back of the fridge” type of old dough, but the kind that turns a pretty good loaf into a delicious toasty, tangy, chewy, sensory delight. Old dough is the magic behind sourdough as well as many Italian, French and other breads and goes by names like “biga”, “poolish” and “starter.” Bakers call these “pre-ferments”, but it’s more accurate to call them “initial ferments” since what you’re doing is fermenting yeast over many hours or days to produce aromas, flavors and [keep reading...]