Tools
Biga calculator for Neapolitan pizza
With a biga dough, I make a stiff preferment the day before with part of the flour, then refresh it with the rest of the ingredients in the final mix. This calculator splits every gram between the biga and the final mix, from the number of dough balls or the total flour, and gives the biga water temperature.
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Two doughs in one
A biga is a stiff preferment: flour, water and a little yeast, low in hydration and barely mixed. You make it ahead, let it ferment, then combine it with the rest of the ingredients: the final mix. So the calculator has to handle two recipes at once, and that is where mistakes creep in, because the water in the biga counts towards the final hydration.
What a biga brings to the pizza:
- a more developed structure, with a more irregular crumb;
- a marked aromatic profile, from the organic acids produced during fermentation;
- better keeping quality of the dough.
For Neapolitan pizza I use a low-acidity biga, managed in the fridge with little yeast: too much acidity would make the dough too strong to stretch. The principle is covered on the biga page, and the comparison with direct dough in direct or indirect.
The doses in my protocol
| Based on | Dose | |
|---|---|---|
| Biga flour | total flour | 50 % |
| Biga water | biga flour | 55 % |
| Biga fresh yeast | biga flour | 0.4 % |
| Final-mix flour | total flour | the rest |
| Total water | total flour | 75 %, biga included |
| Salt | total flour | 2.5 % |
| Malt syrup | total flour | 2 % |
| Final-mix fresh yeast | total flour | 0.1 % |
Across the whole dough, fresh yeast therefore comes to 0.3 %: 0.2 % through the biga, 0.1 % at the final mix. The malt is there for a reason: it brings sugars and enzymes, which is useful after a long preferment fermentation.
How the calculator splits the water
This is the key line of the final mix. The water to add is not 75 % of the flour but 75 % of the total flour minus the water already in the biga. For 1 kg of flour: 750 g of water in total, 275 g of it already in the biga, so 475 g at the final mix.
That water goes in two stages. The first water takes the dough to 63 %, biga included: 630 − 275 = 355 g. It is used to dissolve the malt and yeast. The salt goes in once it is absorbed, then the remaining 120 g is added gradually while the mixer runs faster.
The biga water temperature
A biga is mixed for just 3 to 5 minutes, without forming a gluten network. Kneading barely warms it, and the flour can be taken as being at room temperature. The calculation simplifies to water = 50 − room temperature (in °C). The aim is a biga at about 25–26 °C (77–79 °F) at the end of mixing, warm enough to start fermenting before it goes into the fridge. For the final-mix dough, the full formula is in the water temperature calculator.
Dough balls and biga share
If you start from the number of dough balls, the calculator works out the total flour from the dough weight. My reference points for biga dough: 250–255 g for a 30 cm (12 in) pizza, 260–265 g for 33 cm (13 in).
The “share of the flour in the biga” field is set to 50 %, the value of my protocol. You can change it and the calculation follows, but the other doses remain those of this protocol. To fit the 24 hours of biga, the final mix and the final proof into your day, use the dough schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How much biga for 1 kg of flour?
With a 50 % biga, 500 g of flour goes into the biga with 275 g of water and 2 g of fresh yeast. The final mix brings the remaining 500 g of flour, 475 g of water to reach 75 %, 25 g of salt, 20 g of malt syrup and 1 g of fresh yeast.
Why add the final-mix water in two stages?
The first water takes the dough to 63 % hydration, biga included. I add it with the malt and yeast, then the salt once that water is absorbed, and the rest of the water gradually. A 75 % dough could not take all its water at once.
What temperature should the biga water be?
A biga is mixed very briefly and the flour is usually at room temperature, so use 50 minus the room temperature, in °C. With a room at 20 °C (68 °F), the water is at 30 °C (86 °F), for a biga around 25–26 °C (77–79 °F).
How long should the biga ferment?
In my protocol, the biga rests 24 hours in the fridge at 5–7 °C (41–45 °F). It must go into the cold warm enough, around 25–26 °C, so that fermentation gets going properly.