Detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to prepare the poolish: a liquid pre-dough for bread and pizza, even whole grain.
The poolish is a liquid pre-dough: it is prepared by mixing flour and water in the same amount plus yeast.
My poolish prepared with 1 g of dry yeast requires 12 hours of maturation after which I proceed with the second dough and leavening.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Rest time: 12 Hours
Ingredients
The poolish is prepared by mixing semolina or flour and water in the same amount plus yeast.
In case of whole wheat poolish, whole grain semolina and whole wheat flour require a slightly higher amount of water.
- 1 1/4 cups natural water (1 1/2 cups if using whole grain semolina or whole wheat flour)
- 1 g dry yeast (Mastro Fornaio PANEANGELI)
- 10.6 oz semolina (or flour)
As an alternative to dry yeast, you can use:
• or 3 g of fresh yeast;
• or 4 g of dried sourdough yeast.
* 7 g of dry yeast corresponds to 25 g of fresh yeast, check the manufacturer’s instructions.
Suggested Tools
- Food scale digital
- Spoon scale digital spoon
- Measuring cup graduated
- Measuring spoon set
- Bread machine Zero Glu Imetec or other model
- Stand mixer
- Mixer
- Immersion blender
Preparation
Insert the kneading blades into the bread container.
Place the bread container in the machine.
Turn on the bread machine [ON].The poolish is a liquid pre-dough: it is prepared by mixing flour and water in the same amount plus yeast.
Prepare the ingredients for the poolish:
• 1 1/4 cups of natural water;
• 1 g of dry yeast;
• 10.6 oz semolina or flour.From the 1 1/4 cups of water, heat a small portion: about 1/4 cup; it should be warm, not hot.
Pour it into a small bowl, add and dissolve the yeast.Insert the ingredients into the bread container:
• water;
• water + dissolved yeast;
• semolina or flour.Select Program 13 [bread with little yeast poolish method] and press the START button.
The machine starts kneading for 8 minutes [display shows snail symbol].
* during kneading you can open the lid to check the result.
With a silicone spatula, bring down the semolina or flour left on the container edges.
Once the kneading phase is over, press the STOP button for a few seconds.The poolish must mature for 12 hours during which the machine remains idle and does not keep the dough warm.
Personally, after a few minutes I turn it off [OFF] and set an alarm for 12 hours later.If you don’t have a bread machine, you can use a stand mixer or a mixer or simply an immersion blender.
When preparing poolish without a bread machine, keep in mind that:
• the bread machine kneads for 8 minutes;
• the poolish must mature for 12 hours during which the bread machine remains idle and does not keep the dough warm [personally I turn it off].After 12 hours the poolish is mature and appears doubled and full of bubbles.
The appearance varies depending on the semolina or flour used. Prepare the ingredients for the 2nd dough:
• natural water;
• semolina or flour;
also:
• extra virgin olive oil;
• salt;
• other;
according to the recipe to be made.The overall dough we are going to prepare with the poolish method is called indirect dough because it involves two separate phases:
• 1st dough or pre-dough: the poolish;
• 2nd dough or re-dough.The result is a baked product with a uniform airy structure, excellent aroma, and taste, and that keeps well for several days.
In the section ⇒ recipes with the Bread Machine you’ll find numerous recipes with poolish, with exact quantities and step-by-step procedure.
I haven’t tried preparing poolish with sourdough.
But my friend Rita M. [whom I thank for sharing her results with me] achieved perfect bread with the following quantities.Ingredients for poolish with sourdough
• 1 1/4 cups natural water [slightly variable quantity depending on the flour or flours used];
• 1.4 oz sourdough starter;
• 17.6 oz flour.Place the ingredients in the bread container:
• water and yeast [almost dissolved];
• flour.Procedure [therefore programs used] with the bread machine unchanged.
Maturation 12 hours.Ingredients for the 2nd dough
• 2/3 cup natural water;
• 8.8 oz flour;
• 0.4 oz salt.
Procedure [therefore programs used] with the bread machine unchanged.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the poolish method?
The poolish method is a fermentation technique that allows making doughs with less yeast than standard recipes.
What flour to use for the poolish?
In general, for preparing the poolish, a strong flour is used, such as manitoba [around 400 W].
Unfortunately, the very few times I used whole wheat manitoba [and in a small % compared to the total flours] the glycemic result was disastrous, so I usually use one of the semolina and flours I have in the pantry: semolina and flours glycemic index type 2 diabetes.What is flour strength?
Flour strength W is the flour’s ability to absorb liquids during mixing and retain carbon dioxide during leavening; it depends on the protein content.
Can I mature the poolish for less or more than 12 hours?
The poolish is mature when it appears doubled and full of bubbles.
If you go beyond, the poolish collapses.
With the suggested ingredients and quantities, I recommend sticking to the 12 hours.
