A Pre-Ferment is a dough that has had a head-start on fermenting before the rest of the ingredients are added.
It adds taste, and helps the finished bread product hold moisture so that it will stay fresher long.
Pre-Ferments also helped give strength at a time when European flours were weaker.
Poolish and Biga are, respectively, French and Italian versions of pre-fermented dough.
See Also
Biga, Poolish
Other entries for Starters
Biga, Crème de Levain, Poolish, Pre-Ferments, Starters (French)
Other entries for Leaveners
Chemical Leaveners, Hartshorn, Yeast
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Also called:
 Préfermentations (French)
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