Bread on poolish
================ 2020-11-29


Comment: Intermediate technique between sourdough baker's bread and natural sourdough bread, poolish gives airy breads, with better taste and better preservation than direct leaven breads.
The poolish is a pre-fermentation of half water, half flour and a small amount of baker's yeast. If you prepare it a few hours in advance, you need less yeast. There are ~7g of yeast per liter of water for a poolish which will rest for 6 hours and ~5 g for 10 hours, which allows you to start the poolish the day before and make the bread in the morning.
The poolish will swell, it is ready as soon as it gives signs of sagging in the center.

Hydration ratio (TH): the ratio of the amount of water to the amount of flour. It is normally from 0.666 (400 g of water and 600 g of flour) to 0.7 (420 g of water and 600 g of flour. Here I choose 0.7 which (it is said) provides a bread with larger alveoli.

Salt ratio: the salt ratio is calculated from the amount of water. It is 2.8 to 3%. Here I choose 2.8% because we already eat enough salt.

With the quantities indicated below, we have for water 150g + 270g = 420g and for flour 150g + 450g = 600g, i.e. a TH of 0.7.
For the 2.8% salt of 420 g = 11.75 g.

References :
Baking with poolish
La poolish (in French)


The poolish:
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150 g flour
150 g tempered water no chlorine
Fresh baker's yeast 0.8 g for 10 h


Dough :
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450 g flour
270 g tempered water
12- g salt
1.5 g fresh baker's yeast

Preparation:
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In a bowl (for example the mixer's bowl), dissolve the yeast with the water. Mix the flour carefully, and let stand overnight, covered (lid or shower cap).

The next day, for the dough, pour the poolish in the bowl of the mixer, and add the rest of the ingredients.
Mix well, and let stand for 30 minutes (autolysis), then knead for 10 minutes at slow speed.

For the rest proceed as for the natural sourdough bread :

On a lightly floured table, stretch and fold the dough, trying to trap a little air, and finish with a nice smooth ball (with a soft brush, brush off the excess flour during this operation so as not to add it to the dough).
Put the ball in a bowl, covered with a damp cloth for 3 to 4 hours so that the dough doubles in volume.
Using a horn (kitchen one ;-), gently remove the dough from the bowl.
Delicately make 3 or 4 pull / fold to trap a little air in the dough then put it upside down in a basket (if ball) or divide it in half and shape 2 breads (see videos 2, 3 and 4 below).
I then place my 2 breads on a generously floured pizza peel (so that the dough does not stick during the next 1 to 2 hours).
Cover and let stand 1 to 2 hours. The dough will spread a little, that's normal.
Put the pizza stone in the oven and preheat it for ~ 45 min at 250C or better 270C if possible.
Program 3 jets of steam or place a container filled with boiling water at the bottom of the oven.
Make deep cuts on the bread using a razor blade and slide the buns dry but not abruptly on the stone.
Cook ~ 10 min at 250 / 270C (steam jets), then lower to 230C. A ball will take 45 to 50 minutes to bake, the breads are ready after ~ 30 minutes (watch for baking).
Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.