Pâte Fermentée

French for 'fermented dough,' this is simply a piece of fully mixed dough saved from a previous batch. It contains flour, water, yeast, and salt, and is added to a new batch to jump-start fermentation and add flavor.

By Henry Hunter · Updated October 1, 2026

Henry's notes from the bench

• This is the old-school baker's secret! Save a fist-sized ball of dough from your pizza night and throw it into your next loaf for instant flavor depth.