Confused about using pre-ferment
Hi guys, I've been hanging around here for some time but this first forum post. I'm a little confused on how to use a poolish. To be more exact; is the poolish an integral part of a recipe or is it a distinct ingredient (and should be treated as such)?
Let's say I'm making a simple French style boule by using a poolish. The poolish that I made is 100% flour, 100% water and 0,5% yeast. I then like to add this to my final dough which should be 100% flour, 60% water 1,5% yeast and 2% salt. I want to make a 50/50 ratio dough (50% poolish, 50% final dough). Can I just proceed by adding the poolish to the final dough, or should I adjust the final dough so ALL dough will eventually beĀ 100% flour, 60% water 1,5% yeast and 2% salt ratio? In other words, do I have to take the make-up of the poolish into account when making the final dough, or can I just proceed by making the final dough as if it were a one-step direct dough and than just add the poolish to it?
For those who own a copy of Peter Reinhart's great book "the breadbaker's apprentice", he discusses this issue on page 44 but I'm still confused. I hope you guys can help me out.