What is fermentolyse?

autolyse

A rest after mixing just flour and water, before salt and yeast go in. Usually 20-60 minutes, sometimes longer for whole-grain doughs. During the rest, the flour fully hydrates and enzymes in the flour start breaking down starches and proteins. Gluten begins to form on its own without kneading. The dough comes out smoother, more extensible, and easier to shape than the same dough mixed in one go. The technique was formalized by French baker Raymond Calvel in the 1970s as a response to industrial bread's declining flavor. Often confused with the fermentolyse (everything mixed, then rest), which is a related but distinct technique — the autolyse specifically defers salt and yeast so the dough can hydrate before fermentation starts. For most home recipes either works; the autolyse advantage is most visible in whole-grain or high-hydration doughs.

biga

An Italian-style stiff pre-ferment, roughly 50-60% hydration (not equal parts flour and water — that would be a poolish). Mixed with a small amount of yeast (~0.1-0.3% of the biga's flour) and rested 12-16 hours at room temperature until tripled in volume and webbed with bubbles. The next day, the biga goes into the final dough as a pre-fermented chunk of flour. The stiff hydration is the defining difference: where poolish develops sharp, slightly tangy flavors, biga develops gentler nutty and yeasty notes. The slower fermentation also produces stronger gluten, which is why ciabatta and many Italian artisan breads use a biga rather than a poolish — the strong gluten network supports the recipe's characteristic high hydration without collapsing.

poolish

A wet, equal-parts flour-water pre-ferment with a tiny amount of yeast — roughly 100% hydration, typically 0.1-0.3% baker's percentage yeast. Mixed the night before and rested 12-16 hours at room temperature until domed, bubbly, and slightly tart-smelling. The next day, the poolish goes into the final dough as a pre-fermented chunk of flour. The technique is traditionally attributed to 19th-century Polish bakers (hence the name), though food historians debate the true origin; either way it migrated through France into the modern artisan tradition. The point: a poolish ferment generates deep, slightly nutty flavor compounds the final dough never has time to develop on its own. It also produces better keeping quality — a poolish baguette stays fresh noticeably longer than a same-day version. Baguette and Neapolitan-style pizza both use poolish variants in the library.