Indirect Method Poolish

Poolish (Indirect Method)

What’s Poolish

The poolish is a pre-dough that is added to the dough of a pizza or focaccia to give it aroma, flavor and crunchiness. The effect? Your bread will increase a lot in volume and will have an enviable flavor and crunchiness!

Preparing poolish is not the prerogative of a baker! On the contrary! It is very simple and will require few ingredients. In fact, behind this term there are three very common ingredients: water, flour, and yeast.

The peculiarity is the proportions that make this dough have a very liquid consistency. Its original name in Italian, in fact, is a liquid biga. Another aspect that distinguishes this pre-dough is the rising time which goes from 2 to 24 hours. Much more than a simple leavened dough, of which however it will become an important element.

Meaning

It seems that the term poolish derives from Polish, an adjective which in English means Polish. The diffusion path of this semi-liquid yeast, in fact, originates in Poland and then passes to Austria and from there to Great Britain. This is why the name is ultimately a distortion of the English adjective.

In Italian, however, the biga is a rather dry mixture of water, flour, and yeast, hence the variant of liquid biga to designate the poolish.

What is it for

The poolish, or liquid biga, serves as a leavening ingredient for the doughs of pizzas, focaccia, bread, and so on. The success of this type of bakery product, in fact, depends a lot on the leavening element, which will determine its sponginess, crunchiness, and, ultimately, its flavor.

If we want to prepare a pizza with poolish, then, it is better to start preparing it the night before and then incorporate it into the pizza dough the next day.

How to do it

To make poolish you will need a medium strength flour (index W 240), water and fresh yeast. The water must have the same weight as the flour (1:1 ratio), while the yeast will be the variable factor in the preparation and will vary according to the leavening times. The greater the quantity of yeast in the poolish, the longer the waiting times.

A strong flour (such as Manitoba) and water at a warm temperature (about 30º) are the main tricks for preparing a perfect poolish dough. The method to prepare a good poolish, as you will see below, is not difficult, but it is important to follow these precautions so that the final product does what it promises.

Base on how long we plant to let our dough leaven for, yeast percentage is to be calculated accordingly:

Neapolitan Pizza dough using Poolish

First phase

500ml water;
0.1% fresh beer yeast of the overall weight of the flour (for 15-16 hours);
500 gr flour;

Knead the ingredients until the dough results are pretty homogeneous.
After mixing the above ingredients together, place the liquid dough in a container and let it rest at a 20°C temperature. You’ll notice that, during the time the dough is resting, the volume will increase as much as three times its initial size: this is a normal process.

Second Phase

After the first phase, when the dough is ready you can start with the second phase, which involves adding all the remaining ingredients and knead once again the dough:

250gr flour,
18.75g salt (2.5%);
40 gr. extra virgin olive oil.

Knead roughly 10 mins the dough until ready.
Place the dough on the counter or a container and let it rest for roughly 20/30 mins, covering it with a cloth; after that split the dough in smaller balls for the pizza, as quickly as possible.

It is important to remember that the dough balls must be kept in the fridge, at a temperature that goes between 0° C and + 4°C. With that temperature, the dough slows down the leavening process, obtaining better curing results.

At this point, after the dough balls have been stored in the fridge for a few hours (or for the whole night), it is advisable to take them out of the fridge and keep them at room temperature, in a container isolated with cling film, for 6/8 hours before working the dough and prepare the pizza.