Easy White Loaf with Biga
An update to the Basic Beginner loaf using a Biga preferment. An easy way to make delicious bread that friends and family will love!
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven optional
- 1 Bench Scraper optional
- 1 Lame optional
Ingredients
Biga (prepared the night before)
- 100 g Strong White Bread Flour Typ 550
- 55 ml Water
- 0.1 g Yeast if your scale isn't accurate enough, a pinch of yeast will do.
Final Dough (mixed day of baking)
- 400 g Strong White Bread Flour Typ 550
- 280 ml Water
- 6.9 g Yeast
- 10 g Salt
Instructions
Biga
- Mix all ingredients in a jar or bowl and leave covered, at room temperature overnight or for 12-15 hours.
Final Dough
- The next day, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the water and biga and mix until a rough dough is formed.
- Tip the shaggy dough out onto a work surface and start kneading for roughly 5 -10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and soft.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and rest for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Tip out of bowl, shape into a round loaf, and place in a proofing basket or on a baking tray and cover. Alternatively, shape and place in a 2lb/900g loaf tin.
- Turn oven on to 220C fan and put dutch oven in to heat up if using.
- Rest dough for 45 minutes.
- Before baking, use a lame or scissors to make a cross in the middle of the loaf, or a long slit down one side.
- Place dough in dutch oven very carefully - this will be very, very hot! Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid wearing oven gloves and bake the loaf for a further 10- 15 minutes. If not using a dutch oven, bake for 30 minutes on a baking tray. The bread should look golden brown and should sound hollow underneath if tapped