Chef at 09:33, 18 March 2014

2014-03-18T09:33:48Z

New page

{{#seo:
|title=Mother dough: Cooking Wiki
|titlemode=replace
|keywords=#motherdough #yeast #bread #flour #poolish #biga #yeasts #sourdoughstarter #yoghurtpoolish #breadandbaking #speltsourdoughstarter
|hashtagrev=12032020
|description=A mother dough, also called pre-ferment (pate fermentee), masa madre, sponge or starter, is a fermentation starter used in bread baking
}}


[[Image:Poolish.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Poolish]]

A mother dough, also called '''pre-ferment (pâte fermentée)''', '''masa madre''', '''sponge''' or '''starter''', is a fermentation starter used in [[bread]] baking. It usually consists of a simple mixture of [[flour]], water, and a raising agent (typically [[yeast]]), and is added to [[bread]] dough before the kneading and baking process as a substitute for [[yeast]]. Though they have declined in popularity as direct additions of [[yeast]] in [[bread]] recipes have streamlined the process on a commercial level, pre-ferments of various forms are widely used in artisanal [[bread]] recipes.

Using a mother dough and a longer fermentation in the [[breadmaking]] process gives greater complexity of flavour, through [[yeast]] - and bacterial-action, enhancing the flavour and keeping time of the finished product. The starter ingredients are mixed in a container at least three times bigger than the ingredients, to allow room for the starter to grow. The starter is left sitting at room temperature, up to 72 hours, before being added to the dough. Starters typically last three to five days, but this time can be extended through refrigeration and providing more water and [[flour]] until it is ready to be used.
===Type of mother dough===
There are several kinds of mother dough commonly used in [[bread]] baking:

* [[Sourdough starter]] is likely the oldest, being entirely reliant on wild [[yeasts]] present in the grain and local environment. [[Sourdough starter|Sourdough starters]] are maintained over long periods of time. The Boudin Bakery in San Francisco for example, has used the same starter dough for over 150 years. These starters generally have fairly complex microbiological makeups, most notably including wild [[yeasts]], lactobacillus, and acetobacteria. A roughly synonymous term in French baking is '''levain'''. See the Ballymaloe recipe for their [[Spelt sourdough starter|sourdough starter]] made with [[spelt]] flour.
* Old dough ('''pâte fermentée''') sponges can be made with any sort of [[yeast]], and essentially consist of a piece of dough reserved from a previous batch of [[bread]], with more [[flour]] and water added in to feed the remaining [[yeast]].
* [[Biga]] and [[Poolish|poolish]] are terms used in Italian and French baking, respectively, for starters made with domestic baker's [[yeast]]. [[Poolish]] is usually a fairly wet starter (typically made with a one-part-[[flour]]-to-one-part-water ratio by weight), while [[biga]] can be wet or dry. [[Poolish]] was first used by Polish bakers around 1840, hence its name, and as a method was brought to France in the beginning of 1920s. See also Xavier Barriga's recipe for [[Yoghurt poolish|yogurt poolish]].

{{CategoryLineIngredients}}
[[Category:Ingredients]]
[[Category:Bread and baking]]

<code 'hashtagrev:12032020'>[[Special:Search/motherdough|#motherdough]] [[Special:Search/yeast|#yeast]] [[Special:Search/bread|#bread]] [[Special:Search/flour|#flour]] [[Special:Search/poolish|#poolish]] [[Special:Search/biga|#biga]] [[Special:Search/yeasts|#yeasts]] [[Special:Search/sourdoughstarter|#sourdoughstarter]] [[Special:Search/yoghurtpoolish|#yoghurtpoolish]] [[Special:Search/breadandbaking|#breadandbaking]] [[Special:Search/speltsourdoughstarter|#speltsourdoughstarter]]
</code>

Mother dough - Revision history

Chef at 09:33, 18 March 2014