Application Guide

Place the water and yeast in the bread pan. Add the flour. Program your machine for
the Dough cycle and press Start. Immediately set a timer for 10 minutes. When
the timer rings, press Stop and unplug the machine. You will have a stiff dough
ball that will loosen and become moist as it sits. Let the starter sit in the machine
for about 6 hours. The dough will rise and fill the pan, becoming moist, and
smelling yeasty.
Prepare a lidded plastic container (I use a short 1-quart container) to store the biga by
spraying the inside bottom and sides of it with vegetable oil cooking spray. The
plastic container should be large enough to hold at least three times the amount of
biga you have. (This will accommodate the biga as it rises inside the refrigerator.)
Scrape the biga out of the bread pan and into the container using a spatula or
dough card; the dough will be very sticky. I find it helpful to label the biga with
the date and time it was made before refrigerating it. Store the biga in the refriger-
ator, where it will continue fermenting. It will be ready to use in 18 to 24 hours.
You will need to deflate the biga by stirring it with your finger or the tip of a
knife after about 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours (since it is a live culture, it
slowly rises while chilled). Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze the biga. Since it would be difficult to measure
portions from a frozen batch of starter, portion the starter before freezing. For details
on measuring, see step 3. Store each half cup of biga in a separate freezer-quality self-
sealing plastic bag. The biga may be frozen for up to 1 month. Then defrost it in the
fridge overnight before using.
To use the biga, rinse out a measuring cup with cold water. Leave the measuring cup
wet. Use a small knife or large spoon to cut away a section of the refrigerated
biga and pack it into the measuring cup until it is full. Bring the biga to room tem-
perature before making the bread dough, or warm it in the microwave for 10 sec-
onds. I measure it out, then just leave it on the counter covered with some plastic
wrap for an hour or so until I am ready to load the machine. It is okay that the
biga rises as it warms; just dump it into the pan, whatever its volume, along with
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