Composition and Use
Bigas are usually dry and thick compared to the French poolish or a sourdough starter. This thickness is believed to give a Biga its characteristic slightly nutty taste. Biga is usually made fresh every day, using a small amount of baker's yeast in a thick dough, which varies from 37% to 50% water by total weight or 60% to 100% as a bakers percentage, and is allowed to ferment from 12 to 16 hours to fully develop its flavour.
After fermenting overnight, biga is then added to the bread dough in place of, or in addition to, regular baker's yeast, depending on the recipe, and the bread dough is mixed, kneaded, raised, shaped, proofed, and baked like any other yeast dough.
There are a few bread books whose authors specify a much higher hydration to the biga. Franco Galli, in his "Il Fornaio Baking Book," specifies a biga that is about 100% hydration, which takes it into the level of a French poolish. In general, however, a biga is a pre-ferment of around 60% and the poolish is a pre-ferment of around 100%.
Read more about this topic: Biga (bread Baking)
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