![]() The baker mixes a small paste or dough of flour and water, freshens it with new food and water on a consistent schedule, and develops a colony of microorganisms that ferment and multiply. With either method, the principle is the same. While a rye culture is always of comparatively stiff texture, a levain culture can be of either loose or stiff texture (a range of 50% hydration to 125% hydration). In any case, it eventually is maintained with all or almost all white flour. A levain culture may begin with a high percentage of rye flour, or with all white flour. A German-style culture is made using all rye flour and water. Most important is that each is a culture of naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria that have the capacity to both leaven and flavor bread. While outwardly these two methods are different, there are a number of similarities between sourdough and levain. In France, on the other hand, the word “levain” refers to a culture that is entirely or almost entirely made of white flour. In Germany, the word sourdough (sauerteig) always refers to a culture of rye flour and water. The words sourdough and levain tend to have the same meaning in the United States, and are often used interchangeably. A preferment that is ripening in a 65☏ room would require more yeast than one in a 75☏ room. Similarly, ambient temperature must be considered. In this case the baker would decrease the quantity of yeast used. On the other hand, in a one-shift shop, the preferment might have 14 to 16 hours of maturing before the mixing of the final dough. In such a case, a slightly higher percentage of yeast would be indicated in the preferment. For example, in a bakery with two or three shifts, it might be suitable to make a poolish or any other preferment and allow only 8 hours of ripening. The intention is not to be vague, but it must be kept in mind that the baker will manipulate the quantity of yeast in his or her preferment to suit required production needs. It is appropriate here to discuss the quantity of yeast used. It is by definition made with equal weights of flour and water (that is, it is 100% hydration), and a small portion of yeast. Today it is used worldwide, from South America to England, from Japan to the United States. As its use spread throughout Europe it became common in bread. It initially was used in pastry production. Poolish is a preferment with Polish origins. Unlike pâte fermentée, which is simply a piece of mixed white dough which is removed from a full batch of dough, the biga, lacking salt, is made as a separate step in production. ![]() Once mixed, it is left to ripen for at least several hours, and for as much as 12 to 16 hours. It is made with flour, water, and a small amount of yeast (the yeast can be as little as 0.1% of the biga flour weight). It can be quite stiff in texture, or it can be of loose consistency (100% hydration). Bigaīiga is an Italian term that generically means preferment. Being that pâte fermentée is a piece of mixed dough, we note that it therefore contains all the ingredients of finished dough, that is, flour, water, salt, and yeast. Over the course of several hours or overnight, the removed piece would ferment and ripen, and would bring certain desired qualities to the next day's dough. If one were to mix a batch of French bread, and once mixed a portion were removed, and added in to a new batch of dough being mixed the next day, the portion that was removed would be the pâte fermentée. Pâte fermentée is a French term that means fermented dough, or as it is occasionally called, simply old dough. The important thing to remember is that, just as daffodils, roses, and tulips all are specific plants that fall beneath the heading of “flowers,” in a similar way the following terms are all “preferments”: chef, pâte fermentée, levain, sponge, madre bianca, mother, biga, poolish, sourdough starter Preferments which use commercial yeast Pâte fermentée The following terms all pertain to preferments some are quite specific, some broad and general. After discussing the specific attributes of a number of common preferments, we will list the benefits gained from their use. Some are generated with commercial yeast, some with naturally occurring wild yeasts. Some preferments contain salt, others do not. ![]() The preferment can be of a stiff texture, it can be quite loose in texture, or it can simply be a piece of mixed bread dough. Words from foreign languages add their contribution to the complexity.Ī preferment is a preparation of a portion of a bread dough that is made several hours or more in advance of mixing the final dough. The variety of terminology can bewilder even the most experienced among us. The subject of preferments is one that can cause immense confusion among bakers.
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