How long do you leave your Poolish before you use it?
I have been making our daily bread for many years now - I got the recipe from this forum at least 10 years ago (I think it was this forum). I tweaked the instructions a bit to make it easier to make/clean up, but otherwise have not changed anything. I usually make the poolish in the morning and finish the bread in the early evening. The last loaf I made (yesterday), I made the poolish the day before, so it had 24 hours to do its thing instead of the usual 8.
I have noticed the bread it made is still really soft and fresh today, when usually it would be a bit more firm by now. (Not a problem, as it is only ever made into toast.) So I was wondering, is this how the poolish works? You leave it for a little longer and the bread stays fresher for longer? Has anyone else found this to be the case?
(The bread is just a basic white loaf. I have tried to add grain and other things to it, but when I do it causes pitiful whining noises...)