October 2, 2020 - 7:17am
Preferments - how to add one that doesnt list it in the recipe
New bread baker – though you don’t know it, you’ve been helping me along this fun journey. I appreciate it very much.
One of the things I've heard people say is that "a preferment will make any bread taste better". My overarching goal in this question is to learn how to apply a pre-ferment to a recipe that doesn’t list one.
A few questions for you:
- Are there situations where where a preferment is not helpful?
- What general rules should I consider when thinking about the flour weight of the preferment as it relates to the total flour weight of the dough?
- Referring to the oft cited Weekendbakery.com [1] article on preferments. Should I consider my air-conditioned Florida kitchen, 74-75 degrees year round with a 50-52 humidity to be summer or winter conditions? Room temperature water is 76.
- I’m using 0.1-0.2% of the Poolish weight for my yeast. Using the “summer time” scenario, what % of yeast would I use for a Bigga?
- And this is what confuses me most .... Using IDY, what general rules should I consider to adding yeast to the final dough after the preferment has been added? Do I use the original recipe amount? Reduce the amount by what I used? I use all KA flours: AP, Bread, Whole Wheat and White Whole Wheat. The preferment will be about 10-12 hours old, in a covered bowl in a 74-75 degree room.