How to make Poolish for Pizza and Bread with Massimo Nocerino

There are several traditional methods for creating starters for breads. All of these starters are easy to prepare.
A starter usually consists of a simple mixture of wheat flour, water, and a leavening agent (typically yeast or a sourdough culture). After mixing it is allowed to ferment for a period of time, and then is added to bread dough as a substitute for, or in addition to more yeast. So pre-ferments are critical for best tasting bread - You can call it a starter, biga, poolish, preferment, or sponge - they all do sort of the same job and only really differ by water content.
Biga and poolish are terms for pre-ferments used in Italian and French baking, respectively, for sponges made with domestic baker’s yeast. Poolish is a fairly wet sponge (typically made with a one-part-flour-to-one-part-water ratio by weight), while biga is usually drier. Bigas can be held longer at their peak than wetter sponges, while a poolish is one known technique to increase a dough’s
The primary difference between making bread with a starter and making bread with the direct or straight yeast method is that starter breads require much more time to prepare, but the flavor and texture of the bread is almost impossible to achieve with other leavening methods. Bread made with starters like poolish and biga also tends to keep better, compared to bread made from straight doughs.

[@tonystone8584]

I’ve been watching a million of these videos and the poolish is the key in my opinion. It does all the work to make the dough perfect the next day. 16-24 hours of fermentation. Then add more flour yeast and salt. Let that mixture rest with a coating of Olive oil for about 20 mins. Then form 4 balls. Rest in container for an hour. Full proof!

[@BlackLight180]

In my opinion there's no reason to add more yeast when you have biga o poolish and both are well done.

[@Edge-71]

@@BlackLight180correct no more yeast the pre ferment is your lavaning agent plus no olive oil is required for Neapolitan Dough, you put just before it goes in oven. If you are using home oven then yes u can use oil it helps with cooking with low temperature.

[@BlackLight180]

@@Edge-71 I did a little research and some professional Italian pizza makers also add a small amount of fresh or dry yeast after the pre-fermented yeast. Sorry about that, you were right!😅

[@Edge-71]

@@BlackLight180 we leaning every day, no problem and have a great day 👍

[@hderkovic]

On what temperature is baking pizza

[@Primo489]

Gratuity, thank you, Massimo. You are the best!

[@BabakDadvand]

Impressive pizza and pizza-making skills, thanks for sharing

[@ThienNguyen-xn6bl]

Love from Vietnam. Thank you very much.

[@Lisa-dy1fr]

The best poolish pizza tutorial! ❤🙏 🍕

[@jonlilley2832]

Thank you for the explanation about the difference between a Biga & a Poolish! Mille grazie, Massimo!

[@alagappanprasannah1702]

thankyou sir for teaching us!! it is always a great experience to even look at u baking! so honored!

[@user-eu9vt6bh1p]

Мастер своего дела. Спасибо вам.

[@rimwpnizer]

That pizza looks like beautiful piece of art Massimo. So airy too👏🏼☝🏼🍕❤️🤩💯🙏💥

[@nickbuscus44]

beautiful everything was perfect! amazing looking pizza

[@arcticgummibear4500]

Nice work. Everything looks great

[@petpot1962]

My mouth is watering !!!

[@kfirabargil46]

Professional, Looks very good

[@guyeshel9316]

Looks so good

[@theresafinn4257]

We are having pizza everyday this week. Poolish is next. Thank you.

[@borisi.]

Love it my friend.

[@skiptortorello7582]

Great job, I’ll try this tomorrow. Thanx

[@HerrWacher]

Really excellent videos! Have learnt so much already

[@juliegregoire2379]

You are so soothing :) merci beaucoup de France !!

[@nicksacco5041]

Some of the best looking crust I’ve seen. Thank you for sharing. I was going to use Caputo Chef’s flour, since it has a high gluten content.

[@youtubemec]

Great job!

[@olidahmed5733]

Thank you chef

[@teslarex]

Great video! Looks delicious!

[@rimwpnizer]

Lovely done Massimo ❤️🍕😘😎

[@SuperWujtom]

Lungo studio davanti a me!!!! Buco di cenere geniale!!!! Bravo bravo

[@edithharmer1326]

Yummy! Excellent Tutorial! Thank you for sharing! Greetings from Singapore! Edith

[@aliciacorelli2908]

Muchas gracias por presentar un gran vídeo,

[@josephsaroce4991]

Excellent..thanks

[@momosari5261]

best poolish pizza thank you man for the recipe.

[@oraovadia2895]

Massimo... the pizza looks sooo good 👍

[@diegod7119]

amazing! thanks

[@phillipleboa5251]

I HAVE NOW DISCOVERED.... My pizza dough is in general TOOOO DRY !!! Thank you !!!!

[@denivaldo75]

This is one of the secrets of a good and tasty pizza, soft inside and crunchy outside. At home, I only achieve this by adding a little bit of olive oil onto the dough balls.

[@Iranian..]

Excellent 👋👋👋

[@clydewatts8132]

Great Video

[@cccool4627]

Nice !! Thanks 👍💪

[@bstreetbistro]

Really liking this channel. Sounds from school kids playing in the background. The lighting is good. The audio is clear. I kinda feel like I'm transported across the Atlantic to apprentice, absorbing the craft like a dough taking in the water.

[@riccardocarbo2479]

There's something perfect about all that. Those kids probably smell pizza everyday during recess along with whiffs of burning wood and bubbled dough. Where is Hoxton? England?

[@iskato914six]

great video Massimo! I'm going to start making this today. :)

[@skiptortorello7582]

Good job,,thanx

[@johnpatrick1588]

What a bonus. The rare time a pizza recipe includes the W rating of flour used plus the type.

[@massimonocerino]

W 300/ 350 type 0

[@jelly8594]

@@massimonocerino type 0 or 00?

[@ibrahimalfuaires3563]

hello Massimo, thanks alot for all the excellent videos you share with us. I have a question how long you need to keep the dough balls rest at the final stage before streching?

[@massimonocerino]

6 hours should be OK

[@pizzafireman]

Nice one massimo. Great looking crust. We get similar look with normal yeast fermentation but 24-72 hours in the fridge 🍕😋👍

[@massimonocerino]

😀🍕👍

[@dazstu2435]

thanks Massimo....😀🙂

[@yordankostov3385]

Bravo 👍 . Its loks very nice 👍

[@BS-yk7hi]

Thanks, 👏👍best

[@marshalllaw7413]

Great video! Is active dry yeast and thing as dry yeast?

[@cgenoversa]

You are a treasure.

[@amilakumar93]

wow 👍

[@8bitheroes86]

Hey, thanks for sharing your knowledge, can you tell me how i can scale this recipe to make just 4 pizzas but also using dry yeast?

[@PicSta]

After I've seen most of your videos about pizza dough, I've got a question. Would you prefer the sourdough version over the poolish like shown in this video now? I believe the taste from the sourdough dough version is more complex compared to the ONLY poolish version? Am I right?

[@bharattelange4088]

love from india

[@yashasri6547]

Hello Massimo. I loved the way you rotate your dough in your hand in air. Is it possible to teach us how to prepare yeast at home??? A good yeast gives best results, isn't it?Very eager to learn it from you. Thank you😊😊

[@massimonocerino]

Thanks for the comments. If you want learn how to make your own yest. Check my videos; how to make sourdough starter:)

[@robertogallo2056]

Hi, thank you for the video. I notice that you didn’t put an olive oil in this dough recipe. Does it make much of a difference if you use oil vs no oil?

[@massimonocerino]

Olive oil contains fats and for this reason its use makes the dough softer, improves the workability of the dough, keeps the dough more hydrated (i.e. retains and water), helps to increase the volume of the pizza dough. once cooked.

[@benriley8322]

Pizza legend 🙏👏👏👏👏

[@muzharudin5657]

Hello massimo... possible to keep the poolish more than 3 days or more.....???

[@revorg23]

Very good technique, I'm going to try it, Congratulations !!!, If you can send me a delivery to Caracas

[@motojohnny9596]

solid.

[@nicolasponthieu4460]

Thank you for the video but i have seen other recipes use à lot more yeast in the poolish (5 grammes) do you think it is necessary ?

[@massimonocerino]

If you see someone use more yest it's pointless to do biga or poolish .

[@user-wd1lh4yx5i]

good 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@olliepatrick472]

Hi Massimo, If I wanted to lower the hydration of the main dough so it’s a bit easier to handle, would this affect the timings at all? Would it need more/less proving time? Thanks!

[@massimonocerino]

The hydration it's up to you so it's not a problem about timing ecc. Be aware more hydration may be more difficult to andle

[@PicSta]

@@massimonocerino But it will change the result of the pizza (dough), less airy and more tight.

[@ilonacheema6088]

which one is better for the pizza? Poolish or Biga?

[@drunkviggo7263]

I need to try poolish. I want a puffy crust.

[@fernandoruiz2914]

What Brand of flour do you use?

[@CutlooseCutandCook]

great tips mate. thank you. Question. I accidentally added salt into the polish. Is that ok or have I ruined the process ??

[@massimonocerino]

Should be OK

[@Zaleskee]

Ciao Maestro!, why do You use Semolina for stretching? do You use Semolina only for Stretching?. Thank You again for all these Master Classes Maestro Massimo!.

[@massimonocerino]

Yes correct I do use semolina only for straching

[@braddixon3338]

So the poolish gives you better flavor, and the high hydration is what gives you the crunch on the crust while soft in the middle, correct? I tried using poolish the very first time i made pizza, and it was a disaster. I've learned a lot since then, but still have not ventured into using preferments.

[@kittymama9800]

I made one with biga, but it turned out like a stone 😂 I use home-oven, not fire. I dont know if that's the reason why my pizza became hard 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jdmaffija5463]

@@kittymama9800 its not oven fault

[@kittymama9800]

@@jdmaffija5463 it was. I tried again with traditional oven and it turned out good

[@MrSportystv]

If you don't have mixer poolish is much better idea then biga or lower hydration autolyse.

[@Catracho8ballpool]

Is it okay to refrigerate after making the dough balls? Or I have to wait 6 hrs at room temp. Thanks

[@massimonocerino]

Yes

[@xxsenseixx2917]

Good job dude, i subscribe🙏🙏🙏

[@hanifahipe9496]

Thank you very much for the lesson, Sir. Need to ask you about poolish. If we still have remain of poolish, how to put the rest of the dough? Thanks in advance from Indonesia.

[@massimonocerino]

Thanks for the comments. You can reuse the polish l

[@hanifahipe9496]

@@massimonocerino thank you, Sir. I'm still confused about whether to put it in the fridge or freezer or room temperature.

[@massimonocerino]

@@hanifahipe9496 you can put in the fridge it's no a problem at all

[@hanifahipe9496]

@@massimonocerinoThank you so much for your answer Sir. Can't wait to make pizza with your way.

[@MT-ej8zx]

Massimo thank you for making this video it’s really helpful. If you are making this poolish and dough for a 10kg flour bag for our business what quantities would we use please? Thank you for your time

[@massimonocerino]

10 kg flour 600 gr starter .6 litres water 250 gr salt. 100ml evo oil

[@MT-ej8zx]

@@massimonocerino Massimo you legend this what sets you apart from the other Pizza Chefs, you find time to interact with your subscribers 👍👌 Can you just quickly expand on the comment please as I’m abit confused with the the bit you said 600g starter am I right in thinking this is your poolish or are we talking about the sourdough starters here? Also what will be the quantities for the starter is there a rule I should stick to? I’m relatively new to the pizza game so just need a little guidance, thank you

[@massimonocerino]

@@MT-ej8zx first stage 4liter water 4 kg flour w 300/350 600 gr sourdough starter. Stage 2 after 24 hours 5kg flour salt olive oil.

[@massimonocerino]

If Don have sourdough starter use fresh yest 10 gr

[@MT-ej8zx]

@@massimonocerino thank you, I heard you say if using dried yeast use half a ounce , am I right in thinking I would use 5grams of dried yeast

[@laurenhosford1478]

Oh what I wouln't give for one of your Pizza's. I havn't had a desire to visit the UK until now. Might even visit all the family i have over there while i'm at it :p

[@JohnVC]

Hi Massimo, I started a poolish 24 hours ago but something came up, and I can't use it today. Do you think it would be possible to refrigerate it for 2 more days? I was thinking about adding more flour and water to continue the fermentation, or maybe I should start a new one?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes should be fine for 2 days refrigerated

[@cccheeks8819]

It's a Crunchy!

[@noelphares9666]

Hello Again Massimo! Can you tell me the exact flour you are using for this recipe? When I do this with Antimo Caputo Chefs Flour - Italian Double Zero 00 - Soft Wheat for Pizza Dough it's so wet and soft it becomes extremely difficult handle, and to spread out the dough there is just no strength in it. In your video the dough itself looks much stronger, and thicker in the middle than what I'm using, and my finished weight is around 270gm. I tried 20% All Purpose (hard wheat, American flour) and that didn't help at all! So what is the best flour for this Poolish pizza dough recipe? Thanks!!!!!!!

[@massimonocerino]

Type 00 w 300/350

[@carlosjulia7262]

During the 36 hour resting time, do you stick it in the fridge or you leave it at room temperature?

[@massimonocerino]

In the fridge it's better

[@williamjoo6343]

Hi Massimo, I have couple questions 1. Do you like 20C~23C / 16~20H on poolish? or 18C /24H? 2. Do you ever use refresh yeast on refreshment dough? 3. When I use too strong flour with poolish (W360~380), skin of crust is very leathery (but cornichone texture itself is very soft) can I use medium strength flours (W 280~320) on poolish to achieve little less leathery crust? and still can use for long time? 4. When you start the poolish which flour, water temperature you do on poolish? I always find if I start with cold water, it dosent "ripe" on time. 5. I like to use high % of poolish but it's only good for 3 hours, can't go for 6 hours. Do you have personal favorite % on poolish? Thank you for the sharing knowledge!

[@massimonocerino]

1) 16 to 20 hours 2)i no £yes you can use 280/320 for 1 up 3 days 4) flour W 280/350, TEMPERATURE 16 TO 20. H 5). LESS YEAST AND KEEP IN THE FRIDGE 6)No my favorite. its sourdough no stress , and its best for my street food work:)

[@williamjoo6343]

@@massimonocerino thank you Massimo. I learned recipe is not important to pizza making. More for eye for tweaking lot of thing to what I have. Long way to go.Thank you for reply

[@webdesignerandrew6957]

Just wondering please, at the moment in my house it is usually nearly 30 degrees C. Can I still leave my polish for up to 24 hours?

[@massimonocerino]

Keep refrigerated in that case

[@webdesignerandrew6957]

@@massimonocerino thank you. I'm watching your 6 hour polish video now. Maybe I'll try that first 🙂

[@giacomobarkados6332]

Dopo aver visto tuoi video, seconde te qual e il metodo migliore per fare l'impasto della pizza la casa. Fast same day,biga, poolish. Mi piace questa la pizza ...sembra molto gustoso. Grazie mille ..sei un maestro

[@massimonocerino]

Tutti e due metodi hanno un buon risultato.🍕👍

[@giacomobarkados6332]

@@massimonocerino Grazie e buon ferragosto!

[@rickferns1392]

Hello Massimo, awesome techniques. I have a question, if I'm making 30 pizzas using polish or biga, do I make the dough (poolish/biga) 24 hrs prior and finish it the next day adding more flour and salt and 6 hours rest before making the pizza?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes correct 👌

[@rickferns1392]

@@massimonocerino what temperature would you consider "room temperature", in the tropics it's much warmer, room temperature would be around 26°C, in which case to maintain 16-18°c should the dough be kept in a refrigerator?

[@valeenoi2284]

@@rickferns1392 I would leave it to ferment for some time outside till I see it getting close to twice the size or even 50%. Depending on how fast it's developing, I then throw it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation process. I too live in a sub-tropical region and warm and active dry yeast are my worst enemies as they make the process very unreliable if you count the hours. I can't go with number of hours and have to monitor the process every hour. There are times that when I take it out of the fridge like an hour before making the pizza, I see it all of a sudden ballooning, so I have to put it back in till like 10 mins before stretching it.

[@skuzy]

Hi! Just checking .. 1g fresh yeast, or 0.5 instant yeast?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes correct 👌

[@nicksacco5041]

0.5 instant yeast

[@ffejkk37]

My question is Poolish is equal part water and flour with yeast Is that a separate measurement from the bulk dough recipe? For example. My recipe is 1000g flour, 650g water,14g yeast and 20g salt. My poolish is 200g flour 200g water 1 g yeast. Do I subtract weight of ingredients of poolish from Weight of dough recipe? So after poolish is ready I add 800g flour 450g water, 13g yeast and 20g salt to poolish and let rise. Is that correct?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes you can do that way. It's not a problem at all

[@oskarma1801]

Hi! I cant really hear how many hours to leave them after balling? 3-6 hours? 8:20

[@massimonocerino]

6 hours

[@moiseseduardolopezherrera9183]

Puedes dar la formula porfavor para las cantidades. Osea que si quiero hacer 3 kilos de harina. Cuanto de harina saco de esos 3 kilos para hacer el poolish para cuando ya este listo mezclar todo al día siguiente y me salga bien. Así puedo usar la formula para hacer cualquier cantidad . Y una vez reposada la masa se puede mantener en la heladera y por cuanto tiempo. Ojalá. Me respondas.

[@kamnili6159]

Great video. can I use the sourdough starter instead of poolish?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes

[@CK-ct4lg]

Good video thank you. Do you prefer your sour dough pizza or Poolish? Why did you increase your hydration? Usually you have less hydration % in your recipes. Thanks.

[@massimonocerino]

CK i do prefer my sourdough a do like my 60% hydro, i just want make a different video for people like poolish and different hydration. I never will change my sourdough recipe. for others.

[@CK-ct4lg]

@@massimonocerino keep up the good work and videos Massimo!

[@stevenzitianellis2617]

Hello Massimo! do you prefer Biga or Poolish or Sourdough ??

[@massimonocerino]

I do prefer sourdough

[@SebastianNYC2012]

Maestro 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@robertfarrell3175]

Thank you so much. I will try poolish. What is the recipe for 2 pizza balls please. Can you add honey?

[@massimonocerino]

Maybe for 2 pizza recipe are very small. I don't add any honey at all.

[@robertfarrell3175]

@@massimonocerino thank you for your swift response. ❤️🍕🍕🍕

[@gmperez4023]

Question: why my poolish overexpanded unlike in the video? I even used less yeast 1 gram per kilo of flour and a liter of water? I even put it inside the chiller but the results is still super bubbly and made its way out of my container even when fully sealed? Please help

[@massimonocerino]

You may need to add more flour

[@jonahlynngadon7761]

What flour you use

[@massimonocerino]

00 flour w300/350

[@danielgol4514]

Hello dear Massimo, can you peae tell me that for 1 kilo flour how much poolish i must use? thanks a lot

[@massimonocerino]

Depending of your hydro normally 400 gr

[@kevosi]

Do you leave for 6 hours as balls at room temperature?

[@massimonocerino]

I do but also you can keep refrigerated

[@michellecostea1864]

Can you freeze the rest of the dough ?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes you can freeze the dough

[@gerrymaurer6405]

Hi, Massimo. Love watching your videos--you are a great instructor--clear explanations and lots of repetition. Followed your Poolish recipe (except halved the quantities for this test). Went perfectly until forming the rested dough into a pizza: Used 225 gm ball, but couldn't stretch it to the size you show (only about 1/2-2/3). Used Caputo 00 Chef's flour, Caputo Dry Instant Yeast, 18 hours initial fermentation, 5+ hours rise. Taste was great, but pizza was too small and thick--not like yours. Have also watched your video on forming the pizza. Can you provide some suggestions regarding what might have gone wrong at my final step? Thanks.

[@massimonocerino]

maybe you need to stretching i bit more large,or. make 200 gr size

[@alanmahler277]

I think I heard him say on the video that he let the dough rest in the container for 36 hours after he made the dough balls. When he uncovered them they were quite large

[@gerrymaurer6405]

@@alanmahler277 Thanks for the comment. I just re-watched and realized that I mis-heard Massimo's instructions about the time to let the dough rest. Will try again with 36 hours!

[@Bevieevans8]

I prefer the poolish method to biga. I have to remember though not to leave the dough balls too long 😬. Am I right in thinking that from making the dough to baking, including the one hour rest, it took you 6 hours?

[@massimonocerino]

yes correct. very important to follow this step. :)

[@rickferns1392]

@@massimonocerino If I'm baking between 6-9 PM, I would have to make the dough balls at 12pm, and the dough at 10am (2 hours rest and 6 hours), will the dough balls be over fermented by 8pm?

[@r.llynch4124]

So how many grams per ball for 16 inch pizza, 275?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes correct

[@HenryJohnK]

Hi Massimo, I love making pizza & I really enjoy your videos. Poolish after 24 hours. How long should I work the dough - mechanically folding? Should I do a mini rest 15min let the gluten strengthen and then go back to folding? Next, How long for the initial first proof before making the dough balls? I live in Naples FL USA. My air conditioner is always set at 25 Celsius, 50% humidity. Next, I am not going to make pizza until the next day. So, after I make my dough balls, do I let them further proof at room temperature for several hours & then refrigerate until tomorrow….or should I just put them in refrigerator immediately after forming the dough balls? I value your expert knowledge. You are a “Pizza Guru”

[@massimonocerino]

1) yes 2) 16/24 hours 3) correct

[@btwenzel05]

Looks like it produces 5 dough balls. How is the best way to double this? Thanks!

[@massimonocerino]

Double the recipe

[@btwenzel05]

Thanks you!

[@jelly8594]

@@massimonocerino 😂🤷

[@chrisginoc]

You dont add more water when it comes out of the fridge after 1st fermentation?

[@massimonocerino]

Not really need

[@chrisginoc]

@@massimonocerino What about people who "double ferment"? Poolish comes out, work the dough then put back in fridge for fermentation again then bring out to create dough balls?

[@massimonocerino]

@@chrisginoc the fermentation for 24 hours it's more then enough. Also I don't put in the fridge and make the fermentation more than enough. Also are more different techniques of poolish and biga 24 hours 48 ecc.i do make a easy way and quick to run for the business

[@chrisginoc]

@@massimonocerino Grazie Massimo. Anche parlo un po' d'italiano. C'è un sacco di video clips sul KZbin per fatre il poolish, la biga, ecc. Altri pizzaioli pensano che la fermentazione doppia è migliore. Sto imparando come dare la pizza ed in questo momento non so niente. Grazie per avere mostrato questa ricetta per l'impasto.

[@Azer831]

What if I ferment it for 24hrs in the refrigerator then ferment the pizza dough another 48hrs in the refrigerator after mixed in? Will I still get good results?

[@massimonocerino]

Yes the results it's still good. Just you may found more difficult to stretching