My Poolish + Sourdough Pizza Recipe ( What a bomb) Gift for all my Subscribers. Massimo Nocerino

POOLISH & BIGA TIPS
If you are working with pre-fermented doughs like poolish or biga make sure not to ‘over ripe’ your pre-ferment. This is especially true when using larger percentages of preferment in your final dough (think up to 50%) because over riping will kill the gluten in your preferment (the yeast will eat them all) and you will end up with a weaker and hard to handle dough.
The higher the percentage of pre-ferment you use the more your bread crumb will have a nice chewy texture (but it stops at around 50%). We like our bread that way, it gives you something to chew on. The sugars that are released from the flour in the pre-ferment also add a nice golden colour to your bread.
Yes you can make the same bread recipe using a biga or a poolish, you just need to make sure you adjust the water content.
You can make a poolish or biga from another type of flour than the one you are using for the actual bread. For example, we use spelt, rye or whole wheat flour to add extra (and different) flavours to our bread.
SO… WHAT IS SOURDOUGH?
In a nutshell, sourdough is slow-fermented bread.

It’s unique because it does not require commercial yeast in order to rise.

Instead, it’s made with a live fermented culture, a sourdough starter, which acts as a natural leavening agent.

Sourdough is known for its characteristic tangy flavor, chewy texture and crisp, crackly crust.

From a health standpoint, it dominates when compared to supermarket loaves. The naturally occurring acids and long fermentation help to break down the gluten, making it more digestible and easy for the body to absorb. And it tastes darn good!