Caputo with biga

[artigiano]

I currently use a poolish starter for my neapolitan : 1600g Caputo
                                                                     1000g water
                                                                        80g starter
                                                                        40g kosher salt

18 hour bulk rise plus 3 hour individual ball rise.. this makes approx 10  9 oz pizzas.

How can I convert this recipe into one using a biga instead of the starter?  I have never made a biga and think it would probably be best just to make one using IDY.  Can anyone give me a quick and easy guideline as to how to change this recipe and how to make a biga?

thanks very much!
Al

[artigiano]

thought there would be some takers on this one.. I see so much discussion on poolish but why not biga which seems to me to be the more traditional pre ferment in italian baking.

[Pete-zza]

Al,

I'm away from home at the moment so I don't have the time to devote to your questions. However, procedurally you should first determine how much IDY you will need to achieve the same fermentation periods as your starter, and then reconstruct the resulting dough formulation to use a biga. When I consider a biga, what I mean by "biga" is the classic biga, not a more generic one. For creating a classic biga, you might want to read the Didier Rosada articles at http://web.archive.org/web/20040814193817/cafemeetingplace.com/archives/food3_apr2004.htm and http://web.archive.org/web/20050829015510/www.cafemeetingplace.com/archives/food4_dec2004.htm. No doubt you will have to do some experimentation to get the desired results.

FYI, according to Marco (pizzanapoletana), poolish (and sponge) are not used in Naples to make pizza. See, for example, Reply 54 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2088.msg24291/topicseen.html#msg24291. I would imagine that the same may be true for a biga.

Peter

[thezaman]

i got this from a member of the forno bravo site. pre ferment 300 g , caputo,180 g h2o  2 grams wet yeast. hand mix and rise at room temp 12 hours . it should slightly deflate, next day mix 900 g flour,540 h20 2 grams wet yeast. 30 grams of salt . do not overmix 4 minutes. let it rise at room temp two hours with a few folds. ball and refrigerate for later use. or because of the preferment you can use it within two to 4 hours. do not shoot me ,this is his recipe it is 60 % hydration which is what i wanted ,he recommended 65%.

[artigiano]

Forno Bravo recipe sounds interesting, but a little over complicated maybe.. i was just thinking of using a piece of old dough as I thought basically that is what a biga is.  I should break down my current recipe to make a small amount of dough that i can incorporate.  my question is for an 18 + 3 hour room temp rise what would be an adequate amount of IDY to use?  I can then try using this old dough to create a batch of pizza.. maybe on a smaller scale.

Peter, interesting read about the poolish and biga in Naples.. they must have used something before commercial yeast was around.. I would think a stiffer wild yeast they called biga.  I was just thinking of starting mine with IDY so it doesnt take days to cultivate.

Al