Pre-Ferments

A Pre-Ferment is a dough that has had a head-start on fermenting before the rest of the ingredients are added.

It adds taste, and helps the finished bread product hold moisture so that it will stay fresher long.

Pre-Ferments also helped give strength at a time when European flours were weaker.

Poolish and Biga are, respectively, French and Italian versions of pre-fermented dough.

Also called:

Biga, Crème de Levain, Poolish, Pre-Ferments, Starters (French Bread)

Chemical Leaveners, Yeast