PSA: My trip to the Paris bakery show made me stop using pre-ferments for everything

I was at the Europain expo last year and watched a baker from Lyon make a simple white loaf with just flour, water, salt, and yeast. The crumb was open and the flavor was amazing, which went against everything I'd been taught about needing a poolish or biga for good bread. Now I only use a pre-ferment for specific rustic loaves, not my daily batches. Has anyone else found that simpler methods can work just as well?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai46319d ago

Yeah, that Lyon baker probably had amazing flour and a really slow, cold fermentation going. A long bulk rise in the fridge with basic ingredients can develop flavor just as well as a pre-ferment. Sometimes we add steps because they're trendy, not because they're needed.

troy_reed19d ago

You mentioned "trendy" steps. I mean, is that what's happening with sourdough starters now? I see people doing crazy stiff levains or multiple builds and idk if it actually makes better bread than a simple one. Maybe it's just me but sometimes the old school way with just flour, water, salt, and time gets pushed aside for a more complicated method that looks good online.

joseph52916h ago

Honestly half these bread trends feel like a cooking show challenge to use the most steps possible. My best loaf came from forgetting about the dough in the fridge for two days, not from a triple fed starter. Complication doesn't always mean better bread.

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