"What the heck is a biga?" is most likely what you're thinking right now. Simple - a type of preferment for bread. If you've read my basic bread dough recipe, you should know what a preferment is, but if your memory is a little foggy, no worries. A preferment is a portion of water and flour and yeast that are allowed to ferment for 12-18 hours, then more flour and water are added to make the final dough. It improves flavour, acidity, and texture. A great way to improve the taste of your bread with minimal effort, essentially. Usually preferments are a small percentage of the final bread, maybe 20% or so. But it doesn't always have to be, as with this one.
Before this, I had never made a bread with this much of a preferment. I was a little worried about it, especially since I've never tried this method of bread making before. But I have to say that this is some excellent bread. This is my ideal bread right here. Super crunchy crust, moist interior, lots of fermentation bubbles. I could eat it all day long. And I did.
