WHAT is BIGA? is a type of starter used to make traditional Italian breads.

In Italy, biga is used to refer to sourdough sponges, collectives of wild yeast, and other starters. If an Italian recipe includes biga, cooks should consult the recipe to make sure that they are using the right type, since the term is so all-encompassing. When a biga is used, bread is lighter, with bigger holes and a more moist crumb. The result is a classic Italian country bread, a popular baked good in many parts of the world. In some parts of Italy, the biga is known as la madre, or the mother, a reference to the idea that biga is the mother of the bread. Making biga is a type of pre-fermentation, promoting developing and maturation of the yeast. Since the yeast is more developed, the bread made with a biga takes longer to rise, but it also has a more complex and evolved flavor. As with many pre-fermentation processes, it takes practice to make a biga. A classic biga is made from the unsalted dough of the previous day's bread. The cook simply scoops a wedge of dough out before salting or sweetening it, and sets it aside tightly wrapped in a cool place overnight. Putting the biga under refrigeration will slow the development of the yeast, while a biga can mature in a warm place in around six hours. The next day, the cook uses the biga in a bread recipe, pulling another chunk of dough out to repeat the process. When this system is used, the biga will need to be periodically refreshed, as it is not collecting new yeasts and the colony can become weakened. Other cooks make a large batch of dough intended for use as a biga. It starts with dissolving one half teaspoon of yeast in three quarters of a cup of water and allowing the mixture to sit until foaming before adding around two and one half cups of flour. The biga dough is loosely kneaded, and it will be more dry and less elastic than regular bread dough. The biga can be left in a warm place to mature, refrigerated for up to three days, or frozen for up to three months. Many Italian breads such as ciabatta are made with a biga base. As the biga rests, the yeasts inside multiply, and they also form complex flavors and aromas which enhance breads made with a biga. The flavor and texture of a biga-based bread is significantly different than an ordinary yeast bread, and some consumers appreciate the additional complexity.

Biga (Bread Baking) Biga is a type of pre-ferment used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian breads, including ciabatta, are made using a biga. Using a biga adds complexity to the bread's flavour and is often used in breads which need a light, open texture with holes. Apart from adding to flavour and texture, a biga also helps to preserve bread by making it less perishable. Biga techniques were developed after the advent of baker's yeast as bakers in Italy moved away from the use of sourdough and needed to recover some of the flavour which was given up in this move. Compasition and use Bigas are usually dry and thick compared to the French poolish or a sourdough starter. This thickness is believed to give a Biga its characteristic slightly nutty taste. Biga is usually made fresh every day, using a small amount of bakers yeast in a thick dough, which varies from 37% to 50% water by total weight or 60% to 100% as a bakers percentage, and is allowed to ferment from 12 to 16 hours to develop its flavour fully. After fermenting overnight, biga is then added to the bread dough in place of, or in addition to, regular baker's yeast, depending on the recipe, and the bread dough is mixed, kneaded, raised, shaped, proofed, and baked like any other yeast dough. There are a few bread books whose authors specify a much higher hydration to the biga. Franco Galli, in his "Il Fornaio Baking Book," specifies a biga that is about 100% hydration, which takes it into the level of a French poolish. In general, however, a biga is a preferment of around 60% and the poolish is a pre-ferment of around 100%.

300g Stone Ground Cake Flour 190g Lukewarm Water 16g Instant Yeast Placed all the above ingredients in a plastic bucket (covered) at room temperature for about 15 hours. For the bread dough: All the biga starter dough 3.5 cups flour 1 tsp fine salt 1 Tbsp castor sugar 1 tsp yeast 1 Tbsp Oil (I used walnut oil) cup tepid milk Mix the flour and salt thoroughly, add the yeast Add the biga to the flour mixture Add olive oil, and mix Add milk and knead until you have a smooth soft, yet NOT sticky dough/ I mixed the flour and salt and yeast with my kitchen aid, added the biga and olive oil along with the milk until it formed a ball. You want to keep your kitchen aid on a low to medium speed. Once a ball was formed, I proceeded to knead the dough by hand. You want to use your hands as you feel the different textures develop in the dough and you become more comfortable with your dough. People think I am crazy when I say you need to bond with your food As a chef, you just know if its right or not, or if something is missing, its your connection with your food you make, I apply the same principle to baking. Let your dough rest for about 2 hours (covered), you are looking for it to double in size. When you push on it with your finger, you want the imprint to stay in place.

Shape your loaf after the rest period, and place on a well floured baking sheet. Spray with a little water and cover again, leave to rest for a further hour. Once your loaf has once again doubled in size, you are ready to bake. Place in a preheated oven 200 C for 25 30 minutes, you get this beautiful crust on it. My crumb texture didnt come out as I wanted, but I think that is because I did a straight bake, and not a steam bake, so if you can, steam your baking session by turning your oven to the hottest it will go, placing a pan full of water at the bottom of the oven, closing the oven door, 30 seconds later, spray your oven walls with water, close the door, repeat process three times. After the last spray, lower your oven to 200 C, and bake. All this is done while your loaves are in the oven.

SPONGE AND DOUGH The sponge and dough method is a two-step bread making process: in the first step a sponge is made and allowed to ferment for a period of time, and in the second step the sponge is added to the rest of the ingredients; this is known as the final dough. In this usage, synonyms for sponge are yeast starter or yeast pre-ferment. In French baking the sponge and dough method is known as levain-levure. The method has similarities to the sourdough or levain methods; however, unlike those methods that save some portion of the old starter or mother dough and "recycle" it into a refreshed starter, keeping the old culture alive for a number of generational cycles, the sponge is made from all fresh ingredients prior to being used in the final dough.

Method
A sponge ferment is usually a sticky process that combines part of the flour, part or all of the water, and part or all of the yeast used in a recipe: any additional ingredients in the total formula are later added to the final dough. While the relative amounts of ingredients used vary between recipes, the method remains the same. A generic example of a sponge and dough formula using bakers' percentages: adapted from Young and Cauvain's Table 2.3] Sponge & Dough = Final % % Dough Flour 65 + 35 = 100% Water 40 + 25 = 65% Sugar 0 + 6 = 6% Milk solids 0 + 3 = 3% Fat 0 + 3 = 3% Yeast 2.4 + 0 = 2.4% Salt 0 + 2.3 = 2.3% One significant decision the baker must make when designing such a formula, or adapting a direct or straight-dough formula or recipe, is to decide the sponge-to-dough flour ratio. The sponge's fermentation time depends on its temperature and that of the surrounding area, the ingredients used, and the percentage amount of yeast. It ferments in a humid environment at 7478 F (2326 C), where it will rise and expand to 4-5 times its original volume, when it falls it has reached 66-70% of its allotted time. Once the sponge is combined with the dough creating the final dough, the gluten is developed in the mixing or kneading process. It is then allowed to rest for some period of time, and it may be processed through further work and rest cycles before being proofed then baked.

Purpose
The sponge method is used for 3 different reasons: taste, texture and chemistry. The flavour that is created is dependent on the ingredients used and the fermenting yeast. Just like sourdough, the longer the ferment, the greater the taste difference. Sponge doughs were used before bread improvers were invented. Texture is partly a byproduct of the chemistry going on in the fermentation, which does several important things such as activate the different enzymes (protease and amylase) needed to leaven bread. Modern grain-harvesting practices have reduced the naturally-occurring enzymes that grains had in former times, a result of no-longer-used grain-storage processes, so today small amounts of

enzymes are routinely added to flour by manufacturers, often in the form of malted barley or sprouted grain. Proteases, dependent on their time of action and concentration levels,soften the gluten in the dough, hydrolyzing peptide bonds, increasing dough extensibility which allows the protein matrix to stretch out as the mix expands, thus leading to increased baked volumes and better structure.

Celery Bread (Makes two 83 inch loaves; adapted from Alex Goh and slightly modified) Overnight Sponge Dough Bread Flour Hot Water Main Dough Bread Flour AP Flour Milk Powder

100g 70g 325g 75g 15g

Sugar Salt Instant Yeast Celery Egg Cold Water Butter Diced Celery Diced Ham To make the sponge dough:

50g 8g 8g 130g 1 egg 70g 40g 50g (optional) 50g (optional)

1. Mix together bread flour and boiling water until a dough forms. Cover with plastic and set asie to cool. When cooled, place in refrigerator for at least 12 hours. To make the main dough: 1. Butter and flour your bread pans and set aside. 2. Prepare celery juice. Put 130g of celery in a food processor and add 65g of cold water (not listed in ingredient list above). Grind until the celery is totally pulverized. Strain the celery, making sure to retain the juices. You only want to retain the juices and not the coarse fibers that are strained out. 3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, mix together the flours, sugar, salt, milk powder, and yeast until well-blended. 4. Add in the celery juice, cold water and eggs. Knead with the dough hook until a rough dough forms. 5. Then add in the overnight sponge dough followed by the butter. 6. Knead the dough on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until the dough becomes elastic. When you pull it apart the dough will be springy and not too sticky. 7. Add in diced celery and diced ham, if desired. Mix until well-combined. 8. Let the dough proof until it has doubled in size and an indentation remains when pressed. About 1 hour. 9. Flatten the dough and roll it up like a swiss roll. Place 3 to 4 pieces in each loaf plan. 10. Let proof for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 11. Bake at 350F for ~40-45 minutes.