Dough with Biga and Autolyse

Good morning to all my dear friends. Today I want to take a moment to share something that may seem complicated at first glance, but is actually an act of love for your dough and for those who will eat it at your table. We are talking about two valuable allies: biga and autolyse. We will approach this with the simplicity of someone who gets their hands dirty every day, without secrets and jealousy, because knowledge is beautiful only when shared.

Biga: A Simple Pre-Dough

The secret to a great result does not lie in a magic formula or an unfindable ingredient, but in patience and respect for the natural timing of flour. Let's start with biga, which many see as a sacred monster of professional baking, but it is, in fact, just a very simple pre-dough that you can easily prepare in your home kitchen.

I always advise doing it by hand, without turning on complicated machines. Take the flour and add some water with a pinch of yeast: you do not need to form a smooth and perfect ball, just ensure that the water is absorbed, leaving everything crumbly, almost like a failed shortcrust pastry. This resting period will allow your future dough to have incredible scents and aromas, creating a structure that will make you feel like true master bakers.

Autolyse: Giving Time to Flour

While your biga rests and evolves, we can talk about autolyse: a term that seems to come from a chemistry lab, but in the kitchen means only one thing — giving flour the time to peacefully absorb water. The actual autolyse is done only with water and flour, nothing else. Sometimes I hear people say that yeast can be added, but then it is no longer autolyse: it becomes a real dough.

The idea is to mix the flour with a part of the water you will use in the final recipe and let it rest, covered with plastic wrap, for half an hour or a little more. This small step — which costs you no effort — triggers natural processes within the flour that will make it more elastic and easier to work with. Especially if you use slightly coarser and tastier flours, like a good stone-ground type 2.

Practical Example: Combining the Two Techniques

Suppose you have 1 lb 1½ oz (500g) of flour before you. If you want to try autolyse, mix it with about 12 oz (350g) of water. At first, the dough may seem a bit disjointed, but do not be alarmed: cover it well and let it rest in a corner of the kitchen. When you return after thirty or forty minutes, you will find that mass has become incredibly smooth and ready to incorporate the rest of the ingredients without clumping. This is the moment when you can add your biga, which will have started to release those slightly tangy yet sweet aromas typical of good fermentation.

How to Incorporate Biga into the Final Dough

Incorporating the biga requires...