Cooks' Note
Commentary:<br/><br/>Biga will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. You can use it as soon as it ferments, but just as for poolish and pâte fermentée, I prefer to give it an overnight retarding to bring out more flavor<br/><br/>In Italy nearly every pre-ferment, including wild yeast or sourdough, is called a biga. So if you are making a recipe from another source that calls for biga, make sure you check to see exactly what kind of biga it requires. In this book, biga refers to the particular ratio of ingredients listed here.<br/><br/><br/>You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour if you prefer, or blend all-purpose and bread flour as in pâte fermentée.
