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Biga – yeast starter recipe
Biga is used in Italy for many bread specialties, from pizza to focaccia and ciabatta biga. This is the name of the pre-dough made from flour, yeast and water, which is usually prepared the evening before. The advantage is that you usually have more time the evening before than on the day the bread is to be eaten.
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Baking bread with biga (yeast starter dough)
In Italy, biga is used for many bread specialties, from pizza and focaccia to ciabatta. This is the name of the pre-dough made from flour, yeast and water, which is usually prepared the evening before. Due to the long proofing time, far less yeast is needed, so that the yeast aroma is barely noticeable in the finished bread.
Prepare biga
To prepare biga, you need
+ 100 ml lukewarm water
+ 8-10 g fresh yeast
+ 175 g flour for a loaf that will consist of 1 kg of flour. As the pre-dough needs to rise for a very long time, Caputo Cuoco flour is particularly suitable.
First dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm water. Then stir in the flour using a fork. Leave the biga to rise overnight or at least for a few hours in a warm place in a bowl covered with a wet cloth or cling film. Then knead in the remaining flour and leave the dough to rest again. Depending on whether you want to make ciabatta, focaccia or pizza, follow the rest of the recipe.
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