What does a baker do on a day off?
Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 2:48PM By Larry Kilbourne
Well, practice baking of course! Pictured below are a poolish baguette and an epi (pronounced eh - pee'). The latter begins life as a baguette, but before baking, is cut with scissors to resemble a stalk of wheat....very fitting.
The term "poolish" refers to a pre-ferment of equal parts flour and water, with a very small amount of yeast added, that is made up 8 - 16 hours before a final dough is mixed. This added fermentation period allows the yeast to convert sugars present in the starches in the flour into alcohol and carbon dioxide, contributing respectively to improved flavor and a shortened proofing period once the final dough is mixed. Breads made with a poolish preferment typically have a nutty flavor and slight sweetness lacking in non-prefermented breads.
Reader Comments (2)
Now all you have to do is figure out how to distribute fresh baquettes nationally
LOL!!