A bit of an experimental ciabatta. I intended to make a 90% biga ciabatta but thought - what if I used a levain to make the biga, rather than my starter+water? The idea was that I could develop a more complex flavour profile by making a higher temp spelt-rye levain from my basic starter (5 hour fermentation, 22 degrees), and then use that to form the 45% hydration of the cool biga (16 hour fermentation, 14 degrees).
The result was a really tasty ciabatta, beautiful crumb. I was surprised this kept very well. We did have a standard 90% biga ciabatta made a day before so we tasted both side by side, and it was clear that the levain-biga ciabatta had a better flavour.
The only thing was the crust - I would have preferred a browner crust, but I'm also aware that such high % biga breads usually contain some diastatic malt in the final dough to help with browning.
- ll433's Blog
- Log in or register to post comments
beautiful! what temp did you bake it at?
Rob
I went with 220C without steam. I wonder with an even higher starting temperature might make a difference. Would have to investigate.
This may not be directly comparable, Lin, but I've baked lots of pans de cristal -- 100% hydration -- and I only get a good crust at ~250C. When I'm hurried & forgetful & bake them like my regular ryes at ~230C the crust never reaches peak crispiness.
Rob
That could well be it, Rob. This was 90% hydration so it might have needed an extra boost!
I went with 220C without steam. I wonder if an even higher starting temperature might make a difference. Would have to investigate.
Lovely! They looked great and once again proof that you can do magic things with biga to not get those lumps in the final loaf.
So, the difference with a levain is that it is (1) different to your usual flours in your starter (2) and has one extra feed from the fridge and I guess (3) you've got a higher pre-ferment percentage going into the biga?
-Jon
All three. This time I was really playing more with fermentation temperatures and durations. The biga uses a relatively low temperature so I wondered if a short and warm pre-biga ferment would jazz things up a bit. A bit like a reverse cuvee levain.
The mixing was fuss free but I definitely had more lumps going into the mixing compared to the usual biga. Still enjoying the method. Shall think of more experiments. Still eagerly waiting for your next biga loaf post update!
So, I actually made a 35% biga loaf the other day, with the flour being whole rye and some wholewheat in the biga. And, surprise, surprise, I could mix in the biga with no lumps! So I think, in my case the lumps come from using white bread flour in the biga.
What I like about the biga is that it is fast on bake day, and easy to get lofty loaves. Plus, it is convenient!
On the other hand, I get a fairly closed crumb with my biga so far. But your ciabatta above clearly shows open crumb is possible!
-Jon
Now that you say it Jon - makes a lot of sense. All my prior bigas used whole grains. The most recent series of bigas were slightly harder to mix, since they were made with white. The 90% was the worst, given that I couldn't hydrate the biga in an excess of water used for the entire loaf, compared to say a 30% biga.
I suppose there's something to be said about leaving bread flour out of the biga. I remember Rene saying something about many Italian bakeries using the biga method for weaker flours. I know there's the counter argument that the biga degrades gluten with its long fermentation and therefore a stronger flour should be used, but really I cannot imagine much gluten formation with the apple crumble type biga.
Re crumb - this was relatively high hydration so a bit of an outlier. With the usual 75%, I find that biga loaves benefit from a longer proof or cold retard. But agree with you, this method simply gives lots of flexibility, control and good taste.
Fabulous Lin, that crumb is just outstanding, you must be pleased. A big bonus that you thought the flavour was improved as well.
Benny
You're way too kind! Still striving for a better crumb with my ciabattas, but this was a pleasant milestone.
A slight tweak could enhance the crust. Impressive work, btw!
Very kind of you! Will hopefully improve this in future iterations.