Production
Wheat Bread Formula in Baker's Percent: Poolish and Sourdough Pre-Ferment
A wheat bread with two pre-ferments: a Poolish and a sourdough pre-ferment, each with a quarter of the flour. This page gives the whole formula in baker's percent, the three parts of the dough, and the working values of a bakery.
The formula
| Ingredient | Baker's % | Per 500 g flour |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour, total (types 550 and 1050) | 100 % | 500 g |
| Water, total | 75 % | 375 g |
| Sourdough starter | 2 % | 10 g |
| Fresh yeast, total | 1.04 % | 5.2 g |
| Malt, active | 0.8 % | 4 g |
| Salt | 2.2 % | 11 g |
| Total | 181.0 % | 905.2 g |
The formula above adds up the whole recipe. The flour is 500 g: 400 g of type 550 (80 %) and 100 g of type 1050 (20 %). Half of the flour is pre-fermented: 125 g in the Poolish (25 %) and 125 g in the sourdough pre-ferment (25 %). Both pre-ferments are 100 % water on their own flour. The water is 125 + 125 + 125 = 375 g, which is 75 % and a dough yield of 175. The yeast is 0.2 + 5 = 5.2 g, or 1.04 %.
The recipe is built from three parts:
| Part of the dough | Ingredients (home recipe, one loaf) |
|---|---|
| Poolish | 125 g cold water, 0.2 g fresh yeast, 125 g wheat flour type 550 |
| Sourdough pre-ferment | 125 g water at about 35 °C, 10 g sourdough starter, 125 g wheat flour type 550 |
| Final dough | the Poolish, the sourdough pre-ferment, 150 g wheat flour type 550, 100 g wheat flour type 1050, 5 g fresh yeast, 4 g active malt, 125 g water, 11 g salt |
Scaled to bakery batches
| Ingredient | 1 kg flour | 10 kg flour | 25 kg flour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour, total (types 550 and 1050) | 1,000 g | 10,000 g | 25,000 g |
| Water, total | 750 g | 7,500 g | 18,750 g |
| Sourdough starter | 20 g | 200 g | 500 g |
| Fresh yeast, total | 10.4 g | 104 g | 260 g |
| Malt, active | 8 g | 80 g | 200 g |
| Salt | 22 g | 220 g | 550 g |
| Dough | 1,810.4 g | 18,104 g | 45,260 g |
How the numbers are calculated
- Add the percentages. 100 + 75 + 2 + 1.04 + 0.8 + 2.2 = 181.0 %. Total dough weight is always flour weight × 1.810.
- From the dough you want to the flour you need. Flour = dough weight ÷ 1.810. For 20 loaves of 905 g you need 18,100 g of dough, so 18,100 ÷ 1.810 = 9,998 g of flour.
- From the flour to each ingredient. Ingredient = flour × percent ÷ 100. With 9,998 g of flour: water 7,498 g, sourdough starter 200 g, fresh yeast 104 g, malt 80 g, salt 220 g.
- Pieces from a batch. 10 kg of flour makes 18,104 g of dough. At 905 g per piece that is 20 pieces.
You can do the same with the baker's percentage calculator: enter the percentages above and tick flour and liquid.
Make-up and decoration
Make-up and finish depend on the customer, as for the plain white bread: slashed or not, turned over, round or long, seam up or down, and the flour on the proofing basket. The home recipe makes a long loaf: fold the dough from the top to the middle and from the bottom over it, roll it up, tighten it with the fingers and set it seam up in a floured long basket. Cut it lengthwise at 45 degrees with a sharp blade. Dusting flour counts in the baking loss.
In the bakery
- Same working values as the plain white bread. Dough temperature, mixing on the Diosna (2 + 7 minutes), dough rest, proof (direct 45 minutes in the proofer, or cooled in the 6 °C cooler), baking and cooling are as described on the white bread formula. Bread is never frozen.
- Weight. The dough of the home recipe weighs about 905 g. At a baking loss of 17 % (15 % plus about 2 points for dusting flour) that is a loaf of about 750 g baked. This weight is a calculation from the recipe.
- Pre-ferments. The home recipe lets both pre-ferments ripen for 12 to 16 hours at room temperature, until they have reached their full volume and show many small bubbles on top. Judge them by their development, not only by the clock.
- Dough in the home recipe. Mix about 3 to 4 minutes slowly, add the salt, and knead on a higher speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes in total. Rest 90 minutes at room temperature with one stretch and fold after about 30 minutes, make up, and proof about 30 minutes in the basket. The dough is deliberately a little soft. The high water amount gives an open, irregular crumb and keeps the bread fresh longer.
- Baking in the home recipe. 250 °C, then 210 °C straight after loading, strong steam for the first 20 minutes, about 55 minutes in total. The bakery values for the white bread above (start at 270 to 280 °C, fall to 250 °C, 35 to 40 minutes) apply in the bakery oven.
Things to watch
- Pre-ferments not ripe: a Poolish or a sourdough pre-ferment that has not reached its full volume gives less flavour and less strength. Judge them by volume and bubbles, not only by time.
- Wrong formula: too much or too little water changes the crumb. This dough is deliberately soft, so do not add flour to make it easier to handle.
- Proof too long or too short: an over-proofed loaf collapses or bursts, an under-proofed loaf is dense. Test with your finger before loading: the dent should come back slowly.
- Uneven make-up: loaves made up differently look different after baking. Weigh the pieces.
- Cuts too shallow: no proper break on top. Cut deep enough.
- Wrong baking programme: wrong temperature, wrong programme or forgotten steam gives a pale, thick crust. Check the programme before each batch.
- Kneading: knead according to the window test and not only by the clock, because the right time depends on your machine.