Bake Better Bread: Pre ferment – Pâte fermentée

 Do you want to know a secret?

This is one of the secrets to making great tasting bread and is part of my series Bake Better Bread.

Pâte fermentée or Pre-fermented dough

Its French name is pâte fermentée (fermented dough) or PF for short. Traditionally, bakers kept some of the dough made on one day to start the next day’s dough. Unfortunately, it is also sometimes referred to as “old dough” which is somewhat less appealing!

Adding the pre-fermented dough (PF) to your bread recipe really develops and improves the flavour. You need to add less yeast (you must still add some) and you need to knead less.

It’s widely used in France especially when making “traditional” baguettes. There’s actually a law dating back to 1993 that decrees that only traditional flour (without additives), yeast and salt must be used and that the dough should not be frozen at any point. This is where the pâte fermentée helps kick start the bread making process. Always ask for “une Baguette de Tradition “when buying a loaf in France. Other types of baguette may have additives.

How to make pâte fermentée / pre-fermented dough.

You’ll be pleased to know that you do not have to keep back dough, you can make pre-fermented dough from scratch. Once made put it in the fridge and it is ready to use after 3 hours. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days and take out the amount you need for your recipe. The PF is added to bread recipes, but can also be added to sweet doughs and croissants although purists will insist on PF made of sweet dough.

It will rise a little in a cool fridge, but sits there quite happily until you need it. It can be made with whatever gluten rich flour you have to hand – white, brown or wholewheat. I tend to make white pâte fermentée which goes with everything. The yeast content is typically 1% and salt content in PF is usually 1 to 1.8% of the flour weight.

Other pre-ferments for bread

Other pre-ferments include: biga which is a firm mixture with no salt added (this ferment can be made with either baker’s yeast or levain); poolish which is liquid and contains less yeast than biga; and a sponge which is usually used for a short term ferment used to help heavier flours get going.

How to use pâte fermentée

The pâte fermentée can be used in any existing recipe, simply add in at the same time as the other ingredients typically use 20% of the flour weight. The amount of yeast required in most bread recipes can be reduced to 1% of flour weight if using the pre-fermented dough. You do not need to adjust the hydration of the dough.

Recipe for PF

Basic bread recipe using pâte fermentée

This is an ideal recipe to try. You can adapt it easily once you’ve made it the first time.

Learn to Bake Bread

Learn plenty of French breadmaking techniques in one of my breadmaking courses, there’s plenty to choose from.

 

Bake Better Bread: Baker’s Percentages

Bake Better Bread: Using heat and steam

Baker Better Bread: Baking in the Rofco