Bread Machine (91 page)
TWO-WEEK BIGA
(Classic Italian Starter)
Makes about 4 cups biga
W
hile it is convenient enough to make a new
biga
each time you bake, if you bake a lot, you can make a large batch of
biga
using this recipe and use it in increments for up to two weeks in any of the six recipes that follow. If you like to bake country breads, like I do, this is a real boon in saving time, especially since
bigas
require none of the feeding or waiting that traditional sourdough starters do. Obviously a two-day-old
biga
will be a bit different than a fourteen-day-old
biga.
The older
biga
will be more fermented and therefore impart a slightly different flavor, but this
biga
is delicious every step of the way and will have the same rising power whether it was made two days ago or ten. The aroma of this
biga
is fresh and clean, and the breads made with it are delightful through all stages of mixing and baking.
Bigas
can be quite loose or they can be firm, like this one. This one is used like an “old dough,” or a piece of dough saved from the last batch and added to a new batch for flavor and leavening. The full flavor produced by this method shows the grain at its best; you get a natural chewiness and delightful flavor. The lump of starter is added to the machine along with the wet ingedients, and it gets incorporated throughout the dough during the mixing and kneading. Please note that for the breads made with Two-Week Biga, I add the yeast along with the water and
biga.
Note that you can use either unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour in this
biga
recipe with good results. Also, you can make half of this
biga
recipe, if you like, but surprisingly, once you’ve got a batch in the refrigerator and begin to taste how good the breads are that are made with it, you’ll be using it all up. My guess is that once you get used to this type of starter, you won’t ever be without it.
1
1
/
2
- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES
1
2
/
3
cups warm water
1
/
3
teaspoon SAF yeast or
1
/
2
teaspoon bread machine yeast
3
3
/
4
cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
Place the water and yeast in the bread pan. Add the flour. Program your machine for the Dough cycle and press Start. Immediately set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer rings, press Stop and unplug the machine. You will have a stiff dough ball that will loosen and become moist as it sits. Let the starter sit in the machine for about 6 hours. The dough will rise and fill the pan, becoming moist, and smelling yeasty.
Prepare a lidded plastic container (I use a short 1-quart container) to store the
biga
by spraying the inside bottom and sides of it with vegetable oil cooking spray. The plastic container should be large enough to hold at least three times the amount of
biga
you have. (This will accommodate the
biga
as it rises inside the refrigerator.) Scrape the
biga
out of the bread pan and into the container using a spatula or dough card; the dough will be very sticky. I find it helpful to label the
biga
with the date and time it was made before refrigerating it. Store the
biga
in the refrigerator, where it will continue fermenting. It will be ready to use in 18 to 24 hours. You will need to deflate the
biga
by stirring it with your finger or the tip of a knife after about 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours (since it is a live culture, it slowly rises while chilled). Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze the
biga
. Since it would be difficult to measure portions from a frozen batch of starter, portion the starter before freezing. For details on measuring, see step 3. Store each half cup of
biga
in a separate freezer-quality self-sealing plastic bag. The
biga
may be frozen for up to 1 month. Then defrost it in the fridge overnight before using.
To use the
biga
, rinse out a measuring cup with cold water. Leave the measuring cup wet. Use a small knife or large spoon to cut away a section of the refrigerated
biga
and pack it into the measuring cup until it is full. Bring the
biga
to room temperature before making the bread dough, or warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds. I measure it out, then just leave it on the counter covered with some plastic wrap for an hour or so until I am ready to load the machine. It is okay that the
biga
rises as it warms; just dump it into the pan, whatever its volume, along with the water.
Mastering the
Biga
I had traveled many times to the first Il Fornaio store on Union Street in San Francisco—a California-based franchise bakery chain modeled on one of the same name in Italy. The first bread I made styled after one of theirs was a chocolate bread. In 1982, I was offered a position at the fledgling Il Fornaio company for which I would have trained at their baking academy, but I took another job, opting to work in Alaska sourdough country instead. I started working with
bigas
in the late 1980s. Although I had been baking for years, the manipulation and use of the
biga
were new to me, and my first attempts were less than enthusiastic. On the advice of Carol Field, the food writer who first brought the
biga
to American shores, I kept at it and let the unfamiliar technique evolve into my repertoire.
I met chef and baker Franco Galli, formerly of Il Fornaio America, at a book party celebrating the publication of
The Il Fornaio Baking Book
(Chronicle Books, 1993), which he authored. Up to that time, the crusty, rustic Italian breads made by the Il Fornaio Bakery were a bit out of reach of the home baker. Of course the secret to their wonderful breads was the starter and they detailed it and much more in this informative book.
The recipes in this section are styled after and inspired by ones created by master baker Franco Galli. I guarantee that you, too, will be a great baker when you master them.
P
agnotta
translates simply to “round loaf.” It is a floury country bread I adore. It has a very crisp knobby crust and moist, dense interior that reminds me (even though this is not a sourdough bread) of my favorite bread made by Boudin—at this writing the last big commercial sourdough bakery in San Francisco’s North Beach—which bakes in the Italian tradition. The rustic shape turns out a bit different with every baking. The aroma of this bread is very grain-rich, so the flour you use is of utmost importance. You can also use this dough to make a dozen
pagnottine,
square rolls, for guests. See
Technique: How to Shape and Bake Italian Dinner Rolls
.
1
1
/
2
- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES
1
2
/
3
cups warm water
1
/
2
cup
Two-Week Biga
3
/
4
teaspoon SAF yeast or 1
1
/
4
teasoons bread machine yeast
3
3
/
4
cups bread flour
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
Place all the ingredients in the pan, according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the starter and yeast with the water. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. The dough will be shiny, very moist to the point of being slightly sticky, and soft. Don’t be tempted to add more flour. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Gently deflate the dough with your finger. Set a kitchen timer and let the dough rest for another hour in the warm environment of the machine.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your dough card, fold the edges over into the center. You can add another tablespoon or two of flour as you work, just to have the dough hold its shape, but it will still be soft. Working around the loaf in a circular motion, each fold will lay on top of each other, making a tight round with an uneven surface that would normally be on the bottom of the loaf. The smooth side will be touching the work surface. Spread a thick layer of flour on the work surface and turn the loaf over so that the smooth side will face up. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise at room temperature for about 45 minutes.