February 13, 2021 - 3:58pm
Substituting Preferments
New baker here. Read a lot of posts here but still am a little confused. If a recipe calls for 200g of levain (100% hydration) how would I determine how to use an alternative preferment like pate fermentee?
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Is 100g water + 100g flour. A pate fermente is lower hydration. I'd use the equivalent where the flour remains the same and add the difference in water back into the dough. For example...
Say you have a pate fermente which is 60% hydration. In order to keep the same amount of flour you'd need 160g of pate fermente which is 60g water + 100g flour. That is less 40g water which you add back into the main dough.
You also have to bear in mind the time difference 160g of pate fermente Vs 200g levain when it comes to the ferment times. However as long as you watch the dough and not the clock it should be fine.
Think I have it. So, in a 1000g flour recipe, if the levain is 20%, I could make a 200g flour pate fermentee with 120g water and add an additional 80g water to what the original recipe needs. That seems easier than I thought.
Are pate fermentees always 60%, or could you make a 100% version and skip the math — assuming we don’t have some changes in flavor characteristics ?
Thanks.
To 1000g flour is 200g. Which would be 100g water + 100g flour.
Pate fermente can be of varying hydration but 60% is common for bread flour. In keeping with 100g prefermented flour you'd need 160g pate fermente which is made up of 60g water + 100g flour. Which falls short of 40g water which you add back into the final dough.
Combine specifically want pate fermente? Why not a poolish where you can keep the same amount of water and flour as in the levain? Have you a specific recipe in mind? You're using yeast I take it.
Yes on the yeast. Basically, I thought pate fermentee would be a good alternative for sourdough starter — which is WAY too much trouble for me given my schedule. I made a 5-grain loaf with pate fermentee and liked the flavor, but I have several sourdough recipes I want to try. That’s why I was looking for a substitute. Flavor may not be identical but some enhancement would be beneficial.
When a recipe calls for 200g levain at 100% hydration you could do a poolish equivalent.
Use when ready!
Or go down the pate fermente route as discussed. Keep the same amount of flour but use 60g water and however much salt and yeast. Remembering to put the 40g water back into the recipe.
Or biga. Same as Pate fermente but without the salt and no refrigeration time. Basically a low hydration poolish. Use when ready.
In all cases the timings of the recipe will probably differ but just allow the dough to dictate when it is ready to shape.
You can always ask someone to help convert a recipe or find a dedicated poolish, biga or pate fermente recipe.
Yeast Water is a wild yeast and much easier than sourdough to make from scratch. No feeding.
Well, some things to learn more about. Thanks very much.