Thought I would try another poolish with my sandwich loaf. I increased the flour for poolish to 1/3 of the recipe and used 1/4 tsp yeast instead of 1/2 tsp. I was making the poolish overnight but by morning poolish had fallen ...overripe. I used it anyway...put the rest of the recipe together dough was a bit on the wet side took longer for first rise and shaping was a bit more difficult, second rise took 1 1/2 hours ... but it got there. I was pleasantly surprised with the result...open crumb looking a bit like a sourdough really light and delicious....timing the poolish is proving difficult, I used less yeast and slightly more flour thinking that would get it through the night. It had risen well doubled by 10pm. I probably should of put it in the fridge ..but I was wanting to bake it first thing 5.30am it would of taken a couple of hours to get to room temp. Don’t know how long the poolish was deflated. ..what would be the recommend time to use a poolish before it deflates or just after...
Issues or not you produced a lovely bread. To me that says no issue!
Why not use chilled water if doing a long ferment and you can't keep an eye on it?
Yes I will try that and probably should leave it till later at night to make it. I thought I had killed it ! ..lol but it made a lovely cheese and pickle sandwich... might try a whole wheat poolish next or 50/50 might be safer and normal flour in the other 2/3 ...
Will help. If you're confident you've timed the poolish well then fine. If you're in doubt then an extra pinch of yeast in the main dough will help.
Making the poolish later and using chilled water will help until you find the feel for it. I wouldn't worry though, it's very forgiving. If it's peaked and begun to fall that means it can't hold the gas anymore but not necessarily the food has been used up and the yeasts are no longer effective. Don't forget it's 100% hydration and it won't hold the gas as much as the final dough.
so will play with this for awhile to try and get a feel for it...the recipe you drafted for me was perfect...that was a 30% poolish I increased it to 33% the full 1/3 to make the maths easier...lol ....practice,practice,practice.....
and you seem to have come a long way rather quickly.
You can use as much as half the total flour or more in your poolish. But I would caution against changing any/many things too quickly. My suggestion is to walk, don't run. If you want to add a whole meal flour to the mix, do so in increasing percentages over the course of a few consecutive bakes. It will tell you more than you could possible know vs. if just jump from square 1 to square 10.
There is nothing wrong with challenging yourself, but first understand how each changing component reacts and how you analyze and respond to it.
If you want to add whole meal, then add it in to the final mix for right now and not to the poolish. You already know how white flour reacts in a poolish.
Here's an example of a pullman loaf bake that uses WW as 70% of the total flour, all in the poolish.
yes I agree I think I will try and get some consistency with my white poolish before I move on To WW...I am making notes on poolish problems or it will end up a blur....lol. I think I probably added a little to much liquid in the final mix and need to slow down the poolish. But loving the process of trying to get it right. :-)
That's looking really good; well done! Are you happy with the taste? Wow, a cheese & pickle sandwich - I grew up on those. Haven't had one for years. :)
One thing you can try is to put the poolish in the fridge overnight, then mix the dough with very warm (even hot) water the next morning to warm up the poolish. No need to wait for it to come to room temperature that way. And yes, another pinch of yeast.
cheese and pickles was lovely...lol you must try one for old times sake...I will have to chill my little poolish I would be worried about making dough with hot water in case I kill my added yeast ....but is it possible to sit the bowl of poolish in a bowl of hot water to heat it up to room temp...before I throw it in the mix...maybe worth a try...
To mature before refrigerating. This allows you to build it the previous day at a time where you can catch it when it matures then refrigerate till you need it. I think if you take it out of the fridge an hour or two before making the final dough, use warm water in the dough and after the kneading it'll be perfectly fine. And even if it is slightly chilled it'll just take more time so as long as you adjust and watch the dough, not the clock it'll be fine.
will try again when I get through current loaf....lol