What's that? What's a poolish, you say? Why, I'm so glad you asked! I poolish is just one of my favorite pre-ferments. A pre-ferment, also referred to as a starter, is essentially a very short-term sourdough. Mixing a small portion of a bread recipe's ingredients and allowing them to ferment before actually starting the bread adds another layer of flavor to the finished product. There are many different types of pre-ferments, all variations on the same theme. A poolish is a goopy mixture of around 1/3 of the total amount of water and flour, with a small fraction of the yeast. A sponge is a batterlike substance incorporating 1/3 of the flour, half the yeast and all of the water. Then you've got your pate fermentee, aka scrap dough, which is pieces of fully kneaded, salted, and fermented dough. There are also bigas, the Italian version of a poolish, which are stiffer and more doughlike.
You can add a pre-fermentation step to any bread recipe. The easiest way is Rose Berenbaum's sponge method, as follows:
Mix together all of the water, 1/3 of the flour, and 1/2 of the yeast (and any fat and sweeteners), in a bowl with a whisk until well beaten. The mixture should be a medium-thick batter; scrape down the sides of the bowl. In another bowl, mix together the remaining flour and yeast, and gently scrape this mixture on top of the sponge, so the four-yeast mix covers the sponge like snow on a frozen lake. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for at least one but up to six hours. You can also put it in the refrigerator overnight, but take it out one hour before mixing to allow it to come to room temperature. Then mix until it just comes together, autolyse, add the salt, knead, and off you go.
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