Poolish (Starter For Dough) Recipe

Poolish has become our favorite starter in the bakery. We enjoy using it because it gives our bread a moist, open-holed crumb, a chewy texture, and a sweet, pleasant flavor of fermentation without any sourness.  Don’t be discouraged by the process of making a starter. Poolish is very easy to make and adds so much character to breads like French baguettes and rustic Italian bread. It’s made from the tiniest bit of yeast we can measure, combined with equal weights of water and flour. The mixing takes about 3 minutes, and the rest of the work is done by the yeast which slowly ferments with the flour and water. The poolish should be mixed 6-24 hours before you plan to make your bread. When used in your dough, the final result will be sophisticated bread that makes you look like a professional baker.   Click here to see the How to Make Amy's Bread Slideshow. Adapted from "Amy's Bread, Revised and Updated" by Amy Scherber, Toy Kim Dupree, and Aimee Herring.