White Bread

This dough is typical of the dough used in France to make baguettes. Because the starter—called a pâte fermentée—is fermented relatively slowly it has time to develop a complex flavor that comes through in the bread. The starter used here is very stiff not like the sponge or poolish starters. Because it’s made ahead of time and is allowed to ferment twice, it is similar to using leftover dough from a previous batch.