I came across this gem for those who have limited yeast supply in these trying times. I have yet to try this, but wanted to share this with our community. I’ll leave some notes when I try it. Let us know any tips you learn along the way in the comments below.
For all of you, who running out of yeast… You can stretch the supply, by making biga and keeping it in the fridge… You need to use 20-30% of biga to 100% of the flour in the recipe. It can stay in the fridge up to 2 weeks, just give it a stir ones a day.
TO MAKE a biga you need 420g white flour, 3g dry yeast, 420g water (1/2 a cup warm 40C-42C, the rest is tap temp).
In 1/2 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar, dissolve the yeast and leave it for 15 min. The rest of the water mix with the flour, add the yeast (after 15 min), mix it well. Cover and place it in the fridge. It will be ready in 24 hours. Do not let it collapse, stirring ones a day…
PS: This makes 800gr of biga/ You need 200gr of biga for 900gr of flour in the recipe for bread making. NO EXTRA YEAST ADD!
From: Olga Altman