Pain sur poolish

( Semi-sourdough bread )

As I mentioned earlier, this is my favourite method of making bread. Pains sur poolish are breads that rely on a combination of yeast and pre-ferment for their fermentation process. The difference is that unlike the pure sour ferment, the poolish itself contains a small amount of yeast, which will not only give you a buttery and light crumb, a crisp crust and a beautiful subtle sourness, but also a faster and more consistent fermentation process.

Makes 500 g (1 lb 2 oz)

note : This method is done in two stages: first the poolish, which will need to ferment overnight, and then the final dough.

Poolish

1 g (¹/₃₂ oz) dried yeast

100 ml (3½ fl oz) cold water (20°C/70°F)

100 g (3½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour (‘0’/T55 or ‘1’/T65)

Dough

200 g (7 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour (‘0’/T55 or ‘1’/T65)

100 ml (3½ fl oz) cold water (20°C/70°F)

6 g (¹/₅ oz) fine salt

3 g (¹/₁₀ oz) dried yeast

Making the poolish and dough

To make the poolish, put the yeast and cold water in a medium bowl and stir until fully dissolved. Add the flour and whisk gently until a soft, sticky paste forms. This process is extremely simple and as long as the flour is wet and the yeast has dissolved, it is always going to work. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Alternatively, if you are in a hurry, leave the poolish at room temperature for 3 hours, or until it triples in volume. The following day, remove the poolish from the fridge. By now it should have tripled in size (photo 1).

To make the dough, put the flour, cold water, salt and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (2) and mix on low speed for 10 minutes.

Add the poolish (3), increase the speed to medium and knead for another 5–6 minutes, or until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl (4).

Windowpane test

To check whether the dough is kneaded properly, use the ‘windowpane’ test. Hold a small piece of dough in your hands and stretch the dough until it is almost thin enough to see through (photo 4). If not, continue kneading for another 2 minutes.

Proving the dough

Remove the dough hook and dust a little flour over the dough, then cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm place to prove for 45 minutes. When the dough has risen, knock it down by using your hand to push the middle of the dough down, then fold the sides towards the centre to remove as much gas as possible.

Cover and set aside for another 45 minutes, or until doubled in size, then knock the dough down again. The dough is now ready to be divided and balled.

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