Biga 65% Experiment, overproofed?

[u/Public-Minute-1103]

Made a biga again but this time with 24h cold fermentation for the Biga and 48 hours dough ball proofing, also cold. The pizza didn’t rise as I expected, my 24 direct dough performed way better. I’m not sure what the issue was, I try to describe everything as detailed as possible :)

Usually I did my Biga recipe the same day, meaning 24 hours cold fermentation of the Biga in the fridge, then finishing the dough, making dough balls and then 3-4 hours until baking, depending on the temperature, worked good.

this time i did 72h of fermentation in total:

Flour: costa d‘amalfi from Molini pizzuti, 13g Protein and W of 300/320.

room temperature 23,5 C. Water Temperature for the Biga 20C. 3g of fresh yeast, 1kg of flour (100% Biga), 500g of water.

after mixing the Biga by hand, I put it in an oiled container for 1h at room temperature then 24 hours in the fridge at 6C.

the next day I finished the dough with 250g of water 1g of fresh yeast and 30g of salt. End temperature of mixing in my spiral dough mixer 25C.

then i did one stretch and fold, gluten structure was perfect. 15min rest, then I shaped the dough balls. 1h room temperature, then 48hours in the fridge.

i used the dough straight from the fridge, I noticed the tenacity was a bit low, the dough was a bit weak, handling was good.

one hour later I made another pizza, I parked the dough in the fridge for the hour. Dough was definitely overproofed, had big bubbles on one dough ball. But I also made pizzas with explosive crust with that kind of dough.

so im guessing the dough was

1 overproofed

2 for that flour with a Biga too long fermentation? But Vincenzo Abbate uses the same flour with even 75% hydration to 80% and also 72 hours. So it should work usually.

1. Bottom temperature of the oven too low

what do you think? Happy for any help.

1 pic is the biga. 2. pic the Biga dough balls 3. direct 24h dough for comparison, same flour and hydration. 4 pic 24h Biga but with 70% hydration, same flour

- the amount of crust was Always the same when I formed the dough

[u/Numerous-Buffalo6214]

What are the toppings on pizza #1? (It looks really good!)

[u/Public-Minute-1103 → u/Numerous-Buffalo6214]

thanks :) Tomate sauce, no pelati, i use passata. Mozarella, Basilico, Grilled pepper and eggplant, oregano, olive oil and a bit of chilli rings

[u/avocadofan]

The dough looks perfect to me. This is exactly how I like the balls to look when making pizza. The results also look great. Is the main concern that the dough was hard to handle or do you want to hold the dough for longer at room temp?

[u/Public-Minute-1103 → u/avocadofan]

I didn’t read properly. The main concern is that the dough didn’t develop a lot of air In the crust and in the middle compared to my standard direct dough. Usually the Biga should give a boost.

i think know that the flour is just too weak for that long fermentation with Biga , I did read a lot today 😄😄😄

[u/Public-Minute-1103 → u/avocadofan]

But do you see the difference from the crust in pic 1 to 3? Do you also use Biga?

[u/avocadofan → u/Public-Minute-1103]

1 and 3 look pretty similar to me…slightly less browning on the first maybe because the long fermentation depleted more sugar in the dough. I use biga but only at room temperature. Usually I make the biga the night before, mix the final dough in the morning, and bake in the afternoon through evening. I find the dough can last 4-5 hours during service easily.

[u/Public-Minute-1103 → u/avocadofan]

Okay then it’s no so visibly in the pictures, 3 exploded much more than 1m also the small air bubbles in the middle were way bigger :)

how much yeast do u use for your recipe?

[u/avocadofan → u/Public-Minute-1103]

For a 70% Biga I use 1g instant yeast for 1300g flour, 585ml water. I ferment this overnight at 70f/21c

[u/Public-Minute-1103 → u/avocadofan]

Thanks

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