To Make a Biga
Yeasted Starter
Preparation info
Difficulty
Medium
Appears in
Making Bread at Home
By Tom Jaine
Published 2005
The Italian biga is a piece of matured dough with a speck of yeast in it. It gives loaves a more interesting texture than they would get from a simple yeast dough ripened for only a few hours.
Ingredients
225 g 8 oz 7 g ¼ oz 90 ml 3 fl oz
Method
Make a well in the middle of the flour, crumble in the yeast and add the water. Mix to cream the yeast, then extend the mixing to incorporate the flour.
Mix until all the dry flour has been taken up, then knead on a work surface to a stiff and smooth dough. Leave in a bowl covered with clingfilm overnight (12 hours or more) at a temperature not less than
It should rise once and fall back again before being used for a bread dough as detailed in the recipes for Ciabatta, Italian Country Bread and North Italian Rye Bread.
© 2005 Tom Jaine. All rights reserved.