36-48 hours
70 seconds
Italy
For devoted pizza enthusiasts, the art of creating the perfect pizza extends beyond the toppings to the very essence of its being – the dough. Step into the captivating realm of biga pizza dough, an age-old Italian fermentation technique that metamorphoses a basic blend of flour, water, and yeast into a dough possessing unparalleled depth and flavor.
Derived from the Italian term "biga," signifying "fermented dough," this time-honored method has evolved into the closely guarded secret of numerous renowned pizzerias.
Crafting biga pizza dough is a dedicated process, requiring time and patience, resulting in noteworthy outcomes. The extended fermentation allows the yeast to build up on flavors – nuttiness, sweetness, and a hint of tanginess that delicately pleases the taste buds.
A wonderful pre-fermented dough that gives a beautiful aftertaste and a nice pronounced crust. Trust us, it's worth the time it takes to develop the flavour in this one.
Biga Pizza Dough Ingredients (12x270g dough balls)
- 2kg 00 Flour
- 1320ml Water
- 20g Fresh Yeast (10g Instant yeast)
- 50g Salt
- 20g Diastatic Malt Powder
Biga Pizza Dough Directions
The Biga Pizza Dough is prepared over two days but the ingredients and the steps are easy to follow.
DAY 1
Step 1
Mix 900ml of warm or room temperature water and 20g of active yeast or 10g of dried yeast in a large container
Step 2
Add 2kg of type 00 flour
Step 3
Shake the container to form scraggly bits until you cannot see any dried flour. Use your hands to mix at the end
Step 4
Cover and leave to ferment at room temperature for 12-24 hours
DAY 2
Step 5
In a stand mixer place the fermented biga, 210ml of water and add the salt and diastatic malt powder.
Step 6
Turn on the stand mixer and knead for about 10 minutes until it is completely smooth. Then add the remaining 210ml of water in 3 or 4 times and mix for another 10 minutes
Step 7
Once mixed, remove the dough from the mixer, use water to keep the dough from sticking. Use your hands to fold the dough to form a top and a bottom
Step 8
Once the dough is ready, sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and place in a container to rise for 1.5-2 hours
Step 9
Ball into 12x265g dough balls either in a large dough box or in individual containers and let them rise for 4-6 hours.
Make it your own!
An important part about any dough making is the hydration percentage or the ratio of water to flour. This is something that has a profound impact on how your pizza turns out so finding the right hydration% requires a bit of experimentation. Anything from temperature to the humidity of where you live can have an impact on the proofing of your dough so experiment with differing amounts of water depending on how your dough turns out.