You have tried quite a lot, but you just can't get your hands on the italian pizza dough and are simply frustrated after trying the 100th recipe. Nice that with this recipe for pizza dough with biga you can now deliver smoothly and say goodbye to the delivery service "Ciao Kakao". Biga is nothing other than a pretty stiff Italian pre-dough with lots of flour (in this case, a whopping 100% pure), little water, and a homoeopathic dose of yeast. Complete game-changer, promised!
The only thing you need for a pizza with Biga: a little advance preparation. Specifically, two days because the dough is prepared in two stages. The stiff yeast pre-dough, for which you use all the flour (100% in total), may first mature in the refrigerator for a full 2 days (yep!). Afterwards, you just need to add water and salt, and a few hours later you'll have a pizza dough that you can bake immediately. The pre-dough theoretically also works if you add some of the flour in the second step, but honestly: It's the fermentation in the refrigerator that gives flour and dough those nice flavors, so: All in!
MY TIP:
If you find the dough handling in this recipe takes too long, why not try a pizza dough with poolish. Unlike with Biga, you make a rather liquid pre-dough here. In this soft mix, the yeast can move and proliferate more easily, making your main dough ready for baking in no time.
Ingredients
For 4 servings
For the pre-dough
For the main dough
Equipment
nutritional values per serving
Preparation in 7 steps
For the pre-dough: Mix yeast with water and mix with the flour. Let it rise in the refrigerator for 48 hours.
For the main dough: Dissolve salt in water. Add it gradually to the pre-dough and knead until all the liquid has been absorbed. The dough should be elastic, easily detach from the edge of the bowl, and not tear. Cover and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
Dough should be stretched and folded once after 30 minutes. To do this, grab one side of the dough and pull it upwards, then fold it towards the center and press it down. The dough should be stretched as far as possible without tearing. Rotate the bowl by 90 degrees and repeat this process 7 more times, folding each side towards the center twice. Cover the dough again and let it continue to rise.
After 1 hour, divide the dough into 4 equal portions, shape them into balls, and then round them. To do this, loosely rotate the dough ball between the hollow hand and work surface counterclockwise until the dough has formed a smooth surface.
Brush a baking sheet with olive oil, place dough balls on it with some space in between, and brush with oil. Wrap the baking sheet with cling film and let it rest at room temperature for another 2 hours before using.
Shape dough balls into a round pizza on a lightly floured work surface by pressing and stretching with your hands from the center outwards. Leave about 3 cm of crust.
Then top the pizza dough with your favorite toppings and bake.
Tags
Jelena's happy place is the kitchen and grill. Thanks to her Balkan roots, it's always about one thing for her: food! And she loves it good and plentiful. Whether for guests, the perfect dish, or learning new skills, she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty, might even butcher a wild boar or dry beef hearts at home. No wonder she quickly abandons her Kölsch glass for BURNHARD and ventures into the forbidden city!