Preferments

Preferments are portions of flour and water mixed ahead of the final dough. Done well, they improve flavor, fermentation behavior, and handling without changing the whole formula.

Best ForChoosing between poolish, biga, and old-dough style workflows.

FocusFlavor, structure, hydration allocation, and preferment maturity.

Read This NextPair with scalds and hydration once preferment allocation starts affecting dough feel.

In the KitchenRatio calculator, preferments live in Advanced → Preferments.

Types in the Calculator

• Poolish
  Wet and loose, usually near 100% hydration, often fermented 12 to 16 hours.
• Biga
  Stiffer and chunkier, lower hydration, usually chosen for strength and deeper flavor.

NOTE

The calculator allows only one preferment type at a time: poolish or biga.

Quick Choice

• Choose poolish when you want easier stretch, a more open crumb, and a softer, more extensible dough.
• Choose biga when you want more structure, more chew, and a drier, firmer feel during mixing.
• Choose pâte fermentée when you are repeating the same dough often and want a lower-fuss carryover workflow.

Other Preferment Style (Not in Calculator Yet)

Pate fermentee (Pâte fermentée)

Pate fermentee ("old dough") is a piece of fully mixed dough saved from one batch and used to seed the next.

How it behaves:

• Already contains flour, water, salt, and yeast.
• Brings mature flavor and extra fermentation confidence to new dough.
• Usually adds strength and structure more than extreme openness.

Typical use in practice:

• Commonly used around 10 to 30% of total flour contribution in the next dough.
• Particularly useful for lean breads where you want depth without changing the whole process.
• Because it already has salt, formulas usually account for that in the final mix.

NOTE

Pâte fermentée is usually a "same dough in, same dough out" workflow. You hold back a piece of dough from today, then add it to tomorrow's batch, so there is far less separate measuring than with poolish or biga.

Quick walkthrough:

1. Mix your normal dough formula as usual.
2. Before bulk fermentation is complete (or right after mixing, depending on your routine), remove a small piece of dough.
3. Store that piece covered in the fridge until the next mix.
4. In the next batch, add that old dough piece during initial mixing.
5. Make a new hold-back piece from the new batch to continue the cycle.
6. If the dough piece gets too old, acidic, or weak, reset with a fresh cycle.

Deeper Breakdown

Poolish

• Hydration is usually high (often near 100%), so it matures quickly.
• It usually increases extensibility, which helps with stretch and open crumb.
• Great fit for lean doughs and many pizza styles.
• Watch out for overripeness, which can leave the final dough sticky and slack.

Biga

• Hydration is lower, so fermentation progresses differently and structure stays firmer.
• It usually improves strength and shaping tolerance.
• Useful when you want chew and a more assertive dough network.
• Watch out for underdevelopment, which can leave the final dough tight and uneven.

Pate fermentee (Pâte fermentée)

• It is old dough: already salted, already fermented, already familiar.
• It contributes mature flavor and often better dough confidence in the next batch.
• It is less about changing hydration style and more about process continuity.
• Because salt is already present in the held dough, final mix balance still matters.

How Allocation Works

The calculator does not add extra flour and water on top of your formula. Instead, it allocates part of your existing flour and water into the preferment.

• Preferment flour grams = total flour × flour allocation %
• Preferment water grams = preferment flour × hydration %

You also get live totals for:

• allocated flour and water
• remaining main dough flour and water

Poolish Settings

• Flour allocation: 0 to 60% (default 20%)
• Hydration: 50 to 130% (default 100%)

Biga Settings

• Flour allocation: 0 to 60% (default 20%)
• Hydration: 45 to 80% (default 60%)

How to Make Poolish

1. Weigh flour and water at equal weight (100% hydration).
2. Add a small amount of yeast and mix until smooth.
3. Cover loosely and ferment at room temperature.
4. Let it mature until domed, bubbly, and just beginning to flatten.
5. Use it in final dough while it is still active.

Typical timing:

• About 12 to 16 hours around normal room temperature.
• Warmer rooms shorten this; cooler rooms lengthen it.

Signs it is ready:

• Surface is bubbly and aerated.
• Smell is sweet and fermented, not harsh.
• Top is near peak or just starting to recede.

How to Make Biga

1. Weigh flour and lower water amount (stiff hydration, often near 50 to 60%).
2. Add a small amount of yeast and mix just until combined.
3. Keep it shaggy or chunky; do not fully smooth it out.
4. Cover and ferment until expanded and aromatic.
5. Tear into pieces and incorporate into final dough.

Typical timing:

• Usually 12 to 16 hours depending on yeast amount and room temperature.

Signs it is ready:

• Noticeable volume increase.
• Interior shows airy structure when torn open.
• Aroma is mature and wheaty, without sharp sourness.

Practical Workflow

1. Build your base formula in the calculator.
2. Open Advanced → Preferments.
3. Enable poolish or biga.
4. Set flour allocation and hydration.
5. Use the shown preferment flour/water grams when mixing your preferment.
6. Mix the final dough with the remaining flour and water amounts shown in Advanced.

For pâte fermentée (not in calculator yet), run it manually:

1. Hold back a piece of today’s finished dough.
2. Chill it covered.
3. Add it to tomorrow’s mix.
4. Repeat with a fresh hold-back piece from each batch.

Practical Tips

• Start around 15 to 25% flour allocation if you are new to preferments.
• If you are unsure, start with poolish for easier handling.
• Reach for biga when your dough keeps feeling too loose.
• Use pâte fermentée when you are baking the same dough repeatedly and want consistency with less side prep.
• Keep an eye on total water behavior with Hydration.

Troubleshooting

• Dough feels too slack after adding preferment
  • Lower preferment allocation by 5 to 10%.
  • Shorten preferment ripening time.
• Dough feels too tight or dense
  • Increase preferment hydration slightly.
  • Use a smaller preferment and longer final fermentation.
• Weak rise or dull flavor
  • Check preferment maturity before mixing the final dough.
  • Verify yeast amount and room temperature.

Related Guides

• Scalds
• KitchenRatio Calculator
• Hydration

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