May 4, 2008 - 7:15pm
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Vacuum packing a biga?
I'm getting a biga ready so that I can make a ciabatta tomorrow and I decided to stick the biga in one of my new vacuum boxes thinking this might help keep it moist or something. Is this a dumb idea or a waste of a vacuum container or does it maybe have some merit? Any thoughts about putting a biga or poolish in a vacuum box overnight?
Thanks,
Steve
If you put your poolish or biga in a vacuum sealed container, you would be depriving it of air, I assume, and I'm not sure that's the best thing for living organisms.
I've heard escaping gas from dough blow the top off my tupperware so my guess is I don't think it will stay vacuumed very long. The gasses will build and expand the container. It is good when the lid is not too tight, just so gasses can escape. But do it anyway and let us know what happens.
Mini O
Well I tried vacuum packing my biga overnight and it seemed to work fine. I couldn't really tell that there was any advantage to doing it though. I made a ciabatta using the recipe in the Bread Bible and it turned out great. :)
- Steve
Well Steve, sometimes it's can be equally important to know what doesn't affect your dough. Glad to hear your bake came out well.
Just think... the next time you have to spend time in a pressure chamber (waiting out decompression, or shooting your next interplanetary jog) you can take your dough with you.
Mini O