Poolish – My House of Home Oven Pizza

Most people are aware of dough pre-ferments, like the kind used to make sourdough and other fermented breads, but did you know the best pizza is often made using pre-ferments as well? It's true, and one of the most common types of starters used is called "poolish", which you may have heard of if you're familiar with Neapolitan style pizza. Using poolish in your pizza dough comes with many benefits, including improved taste and texture of the finished crust, although how and when to use it can be confusing at first. Let's get into what poolish is and how you can use it to make your next pizza. Want to skip straight to the recipe? Click Here. What is poolish Poolish is a kind of pre-fermented dough starter used in "indirect" baking instead of dry or fresh yeast. Indirect baking refers to a dough preparation method where (in the case of poolish) baker's yeast is fermented overnight in a mixture of equal parts water and flour before being incorporated with the rest of the ingredients into the main dough the next day. A poolish is typically made by combining a small amount of yeast in a mixture of flour and water at 100% hydration level. So, for example, a half teaspoon of dry yeast mixed with 150 grams of water and 150 grams of flour can be cold fermented for 24 hours to create a poolish. That poolish is then combined with the rest of the flour, water, olive oil and salt to create a pizza dough you can use. If this sounds confusing to you, don't worry. I'll tell you exactly how to make a poolish for yourself further down in this post. Why use poolish There are lots of advantages to using poolish, namely an improved texture and flavor of the finished baked product or, in the case of pizza, the crust. Having a premade poolish on hand also gives you the ability to make a fully fermented pizza dough within a few hours instead of the usual 24 hours. Poolish tastes better Because poolish is cold fermented, without salt, for an extended period of time, the flavors and gasses produced by the yeast are different than in a traditionally produced dough, where a larger amount of yeast is fermented at room temperature over a short period of time. I would describe the flavor profile of a poolish pizza crust as more "mature" than with other methods. Poolish Improves Texture Another benefit of poolish is the improved texture and gluten structure of the dough. When dough ferments, the yeast breaks down its gluten structure little by little as compared to a freshly made dough which typically has the strongest gluten. Gluten is what gives dough elasticity and helps to create the big air bubbles we love so much. So, usually, we're left with the choice of either an unfermented dough with a strong gluten structure, or a slightly tastier fermented dough with a weaker gluten structure. Poolish, on the other hand, gives us the best of both worlds. When a prefermented poolish is mixed with fresh flour to make the final dough, we're left with a dough that has the mature taste of the fermented poolish and the strong gluten structure of a freshly made dough. Poolish Saves Time A high quality Neapolitan or New York style pizza dough typically takes 24 hours from start until it's ready to be baked into a pizza. This allows the dough enough time to ferment and develop a rich flavor without having to use too much yeast. The downside to this method, of course, is that you need 24 hours advance notice before you can eat your pizza. With Poolish, you have a lot more flexibility. As long as you have a poolish starter made and stored in your fridge, you can make a pizza dough that's ready to use within a few hours with all the benefits of one that had been fermented for 24 hours or more. Simply add the poolish starter to the rest of the ingredients, knead it, let it proof and you're good to go. There is a bit of math involved in terms of how much poolish to use in your dough, but we'll get into that soon. Poolish vs Direct Method Poolish is an example of "indirect method" baking, which basically means pre-fermenting a starter dough which is then incorporated with the rest of the ingredients to make the final dough before baking some days later. By contrast, "direct method" baking refers to the traditional way of preparing dough where you mix all of the ingredients at once. Typically, a dough made with the direct method is kneaded and baked all in the same day, sometimes within only a few hours or less. Because a dough prepared using the direct method is intended to be used right away, it usually contains much more yeast than a dough, or starter, that's fermented overnight. For this reason, direct method doughs, while convenient from a time perspective, are less flavorful compared doughs made with the indirect method. It is possible, however, to ferment a dough made using the direct method to achieve some of the benefits of prefermenting with something like poolish, but we'll get into this later. Poolish vs Biga When it comes to Italian baking, especially pizza dough, poolish and biga are the main kinds of pre-ferments that people typically use. The main difference between poolish and biga is the hydration level. While poolish is a very wet preferment, biga is drier and stiffer. The choice between poolish and biga is really a matter of preference, but there are a few differences between the two. Because poolish has a much higher hydration level (100%), the final pizza dough will have a soft and puffy texture. Biga, on the other hand, has a much lower hydration level (~50%), which makes the final pizza dough extra puffy but not quite as soft and moist. I prefer to use poolish because it's easier to deal with (being a simple 1:1 ratio of flour to water) and because I like a soft and crispy crust. However, many people prefer to use biga because they like an extra puffy crust and the ability to ferment for longer periods of time. Whichever kind of preferment you choose, you can really up your pizza game by experimenting with both. Poolish vs Fermented Dough A pizza dough made with poolish and a pizza dough that's been fermented for 24 hours or more have a lot in common. The real difference between the two is that one is made using the direct method of baking and the other with the indirect method of baking. A fermented dough starts off like any other dough, with flour, water, yeast and salt. It can be kneaded for 10-15 minutes or left to rest such as with the no-knead method. However the dough is made, the key to fermentation is leaving the dough to sit for 16-24 hours so that the yeast has time to mature and the flavor is enhanced. This is essentially what we accomplish with a poolish, only instead of fermenting the entire dough, we instead ferment just a small portion of it, sometimes as little as 20% of the dough's total volume. The benefit of a fermented dough is simplicity - you simply mix the ingredients and leave it to rest, either in the fridge or at room temperature, and wait to use it until the next day. On the other hand, the advantage of using poolish is that your dough still benefits from the mature taste of the pre-ferment, but also has the strength and simplicity of a dough that can be prepared and used in the same day (assuming you already have a poolish on hand). Poolish vs sourdough starter Sourdough and poolish are simply two different kinds of pre-ferments used in indirect method baking. Poolish is made by mixing flour, water and common baker's yeast, while a sourdough starter is made from wild yeast harvested from the flour, your own hands and even the air itself. The "wild" nature of the yeast used in sourdough starter is what gives sourdough bread its distinctively "sour" flavor. Sourdough starter can also be fed and kept alive for an indefinite period of time (with proper care) - some starters have even been in use for generations. Compared to sourdough starter, poolish is much shorter lived. The purpose of poolish is to prepare it and use it in the short term, maybe over the course of 2-3 days in the fridge, depending on how cold it is. Poolish math One of the best parts about using poolish is how simple it is to formulate the recipe. There are no baker's percentages or complex mathematics necessary as poolish is simply a 1:1 ratio of water to flour, or in other words a 100% hydration level, combined with about 0.25% yeast. For example, to make 600 grams of poolish you would simply mix 300 grams of flour, 300 grams of water and 0.75 grams of active dry yeast (or roughly 1/8 teaspoon). A small amount of honey or sugar can be added to the poolish as well, but this is optional. The poolish then needs to ferment at room temperature for about 1-2 hours and then stored in the refrigerator for another 18-24 hours of cold fermentation. When the poolish is ready, it needs to be added to the rest of the ingredients of a freshly made dough. In the case of a pizza dough, that means flour, water, salt, and (optionally) honey and olive oil. But using the right amount of poolish for the volume of dough you're making takes a bit of simple math. In most cases, the poolish should constitute 25-50% of the total volume of the dough. For example, say you're making a dough with 1kg of flour and 700ml of water (or 70% hydration). If you want this dough to contain 25% poolish, that equals 250g of poolish to be added (based on 1000g or 1kg of flour). 250 grams of poolish contains 125 grams of water and 125 grams of flour, so you can subtract that from the recipe. You're left with the following: 875 grams of flour (1000 grams minus 125 grams)575 grams of water (700 grams minus 125 grams)3% salt, honey, oil, etc... With the fermented poolish included in the dough, yeast is no longer necessary. The dough can then be kneaded, divided into balls and left to proof before using. This dough will then be fully fermented, even though it was prepared only a few hours in advance. How To Make Pizza Dough With Poolish (Recipe) Following this pizza dough recipe will give you 2 balls of dough weighing 250 grams each, or enough for 2 Neapolitan sized pizzas. The hydration rate of the finished pizza dough will be approximately 70% - perfect for a home oven. Feel free to split the entire recipe in half if you only want a single ball of dough. Tip: Honey is added to this recipe to make the crust darker when it comes out of the oven. This is really important especially if you're using a low temperature home oven. If you find your crust is coming out pale, feel free to add more honey and vice versa if it's too dark. Double fermented poolish To double fermented poolish pizza dough, leave the finished dough ball in the refrigerator overnight or for 16-24 hours. The benefit of double fermentation is an extra fluffy and soft crust while the poolish and yeast work their magic on the the ingredients of the pizza dough. A double fermented pizza dough also requires much less kneading due to the autolyse effect that occurs overnight (just like with a no-knead recipe). If you need a poolish pizza dough recipe to get started, follow the instructions above. Related Posts: 70% Hydration Pizza Dough Recipe – No More Dry Crust80% Hydration Pizza Dough Recipe – Fluffiest Pizza Crust EverImproved Ooni Pizza Dough Recipe: 65% Hydration, Double Fermented, No-Knead MethodDomenic’s Detroit Style Pizza Dough Recipe (no-knead) Related Questions: Using poolish in your pizza dough, in place of traditional baker's yeast, is an easy way to get all the benefits of a 24 hour cold fermentation in just a few hours. As a pre-fermented dough starter, poolish provides a more mature flavor profile, similar to a pizzeria, as well as an airier and puffier crust. Poolish in pizza dough is a pre-fermented dough starter similar to starters used in sourdough, which most people are familiar with. Poolish helps to give pizza crust a deeper and more mature flavor profile along with a fluffy, yet still crispy, texture. If you're a fan of light and airy Neapolitan style pizza, poolish will give you a leg up in reproducing those flavors at home. Both poolish and biga are pre-ferments used in making pizza dough, but there are differences between the two. Poolish is very wet, made using a 100% ratio of water to flour, which makes for a softer, lighter pizza crust. On the other hand, biga is very dry, made with as little as 50% water, which produces a puffier and slightly stiffer pizza crust. In terms of which one is better, biga or poolish, it really is a matter of personal preference. Both are excellent choices if you're interested in using a pre-ferment in your pizza dough. Poolish and levain are very similar in principle but a bit different in terms of composition. Levain refers to the part of a sourdough starter you add to a dough, while poolish is a yeasted pre-ferment that you add to a dough. Levain is typically made using wild yeast from the air while poolish is made with traditional baker's yeast. Both poolish and levain help the dough to rise and improve the flavor of the finished baked product. When a poolish is ready to use, it should be covered in small air bubbles and risen slightly. Be careful not to over ferment your poolish, however, as it can grow out of control quite quickly and go bad. The best way to use poolish is by letting it rest at room temperature for about 1 hour to begin the fermentation process then placing it in the refrigerator for 16-24 hours, or overnight. The cold temperatures of the refrigerator will allow the poolish to continue fermenting but at a much slower pace, leading to a better flavor profile and texture when used in a pizza dough. Because poolish has a relatively high percentage of yeast and no salt, it can over ferment quite easily. For this reason, it's best to store poolish in a refrigerator, or a very cold room, as soon as the fermentation process has begun (usually after 1 hour or so). The best poolish is cold fermented for 16 to 24 hours before use to ensure the best flavor and texture without the risk of over fermenting. The most common reason for poolish not rising is a dead or underactive yeast. To test the viability of your yeast, place a teaspoon of it in a small bowl of warm water mixed with a teaspoon of sugar. If the yeast does not start to bubble and foam after 15 minutes, it is most likely dead. Another possibility is that your poolish is too cold for the yeast to begin activating - in this case, try leaving the poolish at room temperature for 1-2 hours before putting it in the refrigerator to cold ferment overnight.