Many of the recipes for classic regional breads, such as this ciabatta recipe, begin with a starter dough made from small amounts of flour, water, and yeast allowed an initial fermentation. The starter, known as biga in Italy, or bighino when in small amounts, not only gives strength to what in Italy are weak flours, it also produces a secondary fermentation from which come the wonderful aroma, natural flavor, and special porosity of the final loaves and wheels of bread.
The important point about a biga is that the breads made with it develop a wonderful taste because their risings are long and bring out the flavor of the grain. Another benefit is that the loaves remain fresher and taste sweeter than those made with large amounts of commercial yeast.
In Italy, bakers use dough from the previous day’s baking to start a new dough. I keep some starter on hand at all times; by having it around, I can decide to make pane pugliese or ciabatta in the morning and have it for dinner that night. Because the first biga must come from somewhere, though, you may make it following the instructions below. It’s remarkable. It freezes very well and needs only about 3 hours at room temperature until it is bubbly and active again, or it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.–Carol Field
LC Obliged to Biga Note
Behind each and every memorable bite of proper Italian bread we’ve daintily nibbled, hungrily inhaled, or otherwise somehow consumed, we have a biga to thank. So we’re feeling much obliged to Carol Field for this recipe. Nonna not included.
Italian Biga
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons water, preferably bottled spring water, at room temperature
- 2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil, for the bowl
Instructions
- Stir the yeast into the 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- Stir the spring water into the creamy yeast mixture, and then stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes. If mixing with a stand mixer, beat with the paddle at the lowest speed for 2 minutes. If mixing with a food processor, mix just until a sticky dough forms.
- Transfer the biga to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours, until the starter is triple its original volume but is still wet and sticky. (The bakers I admire most advise 10 to 11 hours for the first rise, but others are very happy with the 24 hours it takes for dough to truly become yesterday’s dough, and if you like sour bread, allow your biga to rest for 24 to 48 hours or even 72 hours.)
- Cover and refrigerate or freeze the biga until ready to use. (If refrigerating the biga, use within 5 days. If freezing the biga, let it rest at room temperature for about 3 hours until it is bubbly and active again.) When needed, scoop out the desired amount of biga for your recipe and proceed. I strongly recommend weighing the biga rather than measuring it by volume since it expands at room temperature. If measuring by volume, measure chilled biga; if measuring by weight, the biga may be chilled or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is a perfectly suitable starting point for most any bread which uses a starter. I bake bread several times a week and it’s nice to have this handy. Sometimes I add this to a bread dough which doesn’t call for a starter just for the added flavor.
So I’ve made the biga twice. Yesterday I had 90 grams leftover. I wanted to have enough to do another batch of ciabatta today. I didn’t know how to get the requisite 500 grams for today’s batch, so I made more, using the biga recipe, and folded in the leftover 90g.
I just finished making the dough for today’s batch and had 190 grams leftover. I added equal flour and water. I’m hoping this was right. If so, now what? Do I leave it out for 11 hours and then refrigerate? That’s what I’m planning to do if I don’t hear from anyone. If that works, I’ll have just under 600 g of biga, enough for one batch with 100 g leftover, which won’t be enough to start another round. Can I feed it and then feed it again? Does this work like my sourdough? Or do I take some of the next batch of dough and add that to the leftover biga? Your help would be appreciated!
Hi Nina, I was just speaking with one of our testers the other day about this. She made a batch of biga and used about half of it to make bread. She then immediately fed it, with 100 grams of flour and 100 ml of water, left it out for another 24 hours and then put it in the fridge. The next time she wanted to make bread, she brought it to room temperature, used a portion then added the same amount of flour and water as before. She let it sit out all day and placed it back in the refrigerator at night. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much!
You bet, Nina!
Now if I wanted to just keep feeding the Biga with Flour and Water and keep it going for long periods of time, how often should I feed it and where should I keep it? Should it be kept in the fridge? I have heard of starters that were started over 100 years ago and just kept fed. Can you help me with some info on this?
Hi Sean, one of our testers recently made a batch of biga and used about half of it to make bread. She then immediately fed it, with 100 grams of flour and 100 ml of water, left it out for another 24 hours and then put it in the fridge. The next time she wanted to make bread, she brought it to room temperature, used a portion then added the same amount of flour and water as before. She let it sit out all day and placed it back in the refrigerator at night. Hope this helps.
I tried making sourdough last year, and failed miserably. I was hesitant to try this, but am SO glad that I did. My husband and I LOVED this Ciabatta bread. I let my biga rest for 24 hours before starting the bread and the flavor was amazing. I will make this again! Thanks for the detailed instructions for both the biga and the bread.
You are most welcome Adrienne, those are some gorgeous loaves of bread!
Hi there! Am I able to use instant dry yeast? If so, should I just follow the instructions exactly as noted in the recipe above and for the ciabatta recipe?
Hi Matea, are you using instant or rapid rise yeast? If rapid rise, then probably no as it is not formulated for doughs with a longer proofing time.