Preferment

A portion of the recipe's flour, water, and yeast or starter that's mixed and fermented ahead of time, then added to the final dough. Preferments bring more flavor, better keeping quality, and often better structure than mixing everything at once. The common types are poolish (wet), biga (stiff), sponge, pâte fermentée (a piece of old dough), and levain (the sourdough version).

By Henry Hunter · Updated October 1, 2026

Henry's notes from the bench

• If you're not ready for sourdough, a poolish made the night before is the quickest way to get that deeper, bakery-style flavor in a yeasted loaf.