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Biga: Dough recipe for Pizza Napoletana Contemporanea
For me, the queen of pizza doughs is Biga. Biga is a preferment originating in Italy, which was originally used in bread-making. Pizza made with Biga is absolutely delicious and particularly easy to digest. The flavour of pizza dough made with Biga is much more pronounced than that of a direct dough or a pizza dough made with poolish, and is reminiscent of hearty bread. Here’s a Biga dough recipe I’ve developed myself, with a hydration of 70%. You’ll also find kneading instructions for your home stand mixer, so you can make the perfect pizza dough with as little kneading time as possible. Ingredients for a 100% biga starter for 4 pizzas à…
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Biga: Why the window pane test can be a warning sign
In countless pizza videos on the subject of biga, the “perfect” window pane test leaves novice pizza makers in awe. “Only by passing the window pane test right at the end of your kneading process will your Biga pizza dough turn out perfectly,” is often the message from many influencers. Of course, a dough looks impressive when it can be stretched so beautifully and elastically right at the end of the kneading phase. But this doesn’t apply to every type of dough, and certainly not to Biga. And so the keen home pizza maker kneads their Biga dough with high-gluten pizza flour (protein content over 13 per cent) during the final mixing until…
The pizza experience | catering & courses
