Poolish and Biga Calculator for Pizza Dough
A 30 percent poolish on a 600 g flour formula means 180 g of flour and 180 g of water in the poolish with 0.36 g of instant yeast, leaving 420 g of flour and the remaining water for the final dough. A poolish is 100 percent hydration and ferments 12 to 16 hours at 68F; a biga is 45 to 55 percent hydration and ferments 16 to 18 hours at 60 to 64F.
A preferment is not a different recipe, it is the same recipe mixed in two stages. Some of the flour and water go into a small batch with a tiny amount of yeast, ferment for a long time on their own, and then join the rest. This calculator takes a normal formula and performs that split, so both stages add back to exactly the dough you meant to make.
Poolish and biga calculator
All of it goes into the final dough, never into the preferment.
Percent of the preferment flour, not the total.
Often zero for a long room-temperature bulk, 0.05 to 0.15 percent when you want the final dough moving faster.
What is a preferment, and why bother?
A preferment is a portion of the dough mixed hours in advance with a very small amount of yeast, left to ferment on its own, and then folded into the rest. It does two things a straight dough cannot do in the same time: it develops flavour compounds that only appear over many hours, and it starts building gluten structure before the main mix even begins.
The flavour difference is the reason most people try one and the handling difference is the reason they keep doing it. A dough built on a poolish is noticeably more extensible, meaning it opens under your hands rather than fighting back, and it browns better because long fermentation has produced the sugars and amino acids that drive the Maillard reaction. A dough built on a biga is stronger and holds a taller rim.
Neither is a substitute for getting the base formula right. Work out the whole formula on the hydration calculator first, then use this page to split it. The totals are identical either way, which is the point: a preferment changes when the flour is hydrated, not how much of it there is.
Poolish or biga, which should I use?
Poolish is the wet one. Equal weights of flour and water make a batter you can pour, and the high free-water content lets enzymes work quickly, which produces a pronounced, slightly tangy aroma and a very extensible dough. It is the easier of the two to judge, because it visibly domes and then flattens when it is ready.
Biga is the stiff one. At 45 to 55 percent hydration it barely comes together, and that dryness slows everything down and pushes fermentation toward milder, sweeter, nuttier notes. It builds more strength than a poolish, which is why it suits high-hydration final doughs and taller Neapolitan rims. It is also less forgiving: a biga that is too warm or too long turns unpleasantly sour and loses its structure.
| Property | Poolish | Biga |
|---|---|---|
| Hydration | 100% | 45 to 55% |
| Typical share of total flour | 20 to 50% | 30 to 100% |
| Instant yeast, on preferment flour | 0.1 to 0.3% | 0.1 to 1.0% |
| Fermentation time | 12 to 16 h | 16 to 18 h |
| Ideal temperature | 64 to 70F | 60 to 64F |
| Ready when | domed, bubbled, just collapsing | tripled, sweet and yeasty |
| Effect on dough | extensible, tangy | strong, sweet, nutty |
| Best for | New York, home oven | Neapolitan, tall rim |
How does the split arithmetic work?
Everything is a share of the total flour, which the calculator derives from your dough weight the same way the hydration calculator does. Once total flour is known, the split is four lines:
- Preferment flour = total flour multiplied by the preferment percentage
- Preferment water = preferment flour multiplied by the preferment hydration
- Final flour = total flour minus preferment flour
- Final water = total water minus preferment water
Worked example on a 30 percent poolish. A four ball batch at 260 g each is 1,040 g of dough. At 65 percent hydration, 2.5 percent salt and 0.16 percent total yeast the total flour is about 611 g and the total water about 397 g. The poolish takes 30 percent of the flour, which is 183 g, plus the same weight in water because a poolish is 100 percent hydration. That leaves 428 g of flour and 214 g of water for the final mix, plus all the salt.
The trap that this calculator flags for you: a high preferment percentage at high preferment hydration can demand more water than the whole formula contains. A 60 percent poolish on a 55 percent hydration dough needs 60 percent of the flour weight in water in the poolish alone, against a total of 55 percent. That is impossible, and the warning line will tell you so rather than quietly producing a negative number.
How do I know when the preferment is ready?
A poolish is ready when the surface is a mass of bubbles, the whole thing has domed, and the centre has just begun to sink. That collapse is the signal, and it is quite sharp: a poolish used two hours early contributes very little, and one used four hours late has consumed its available sugars and will make a slack, sour dough that browns poorly.
A biga is ready when it has roughly tripled and smells sweet and strongly yeasty rather than alcoholic. Because it is stiff, it does not collapse in the same visible way, so time and temperature matter more. Keeping it at 60 to 64F is the reliable route, which in most homes means a cool room, a cellar, or the fridge for the last few hours.
Both are far easier to read in a straight-sided container than in a bowl. A graduated Cambro container lets you mark the starting level and watch it climb, which turns "has it tripled?" into a reading rather than an argument. Track the timing side on the proof time calculator.
How does this change the rest of the schedule?
The preferment happens the night before. Mix it, cover it loosely, and leave it out. The next day it goes into the final mix along with the remaining flour, the remaining water, all the salt and any extra yeast, and from that point the dough behaves like a normal dough with a shorter bulk ferment, usually one to three hours before balling.
Expect the finished dough to move faster than the yeast percentage suggests, because the preferment arrives already full of active yeast. If you are used to a straight dough, take an hour off your usual bulk time and start checking early. Many strong formulas then cold ferment the balls for another 24 hours, which stacks preferment flavour on top of cold-ferment browning. That method is covered in the cold fermentation guide, and the flour choice that suits it is covered in 00 flour versus bread flour.
Weigh the preferment yeast rather than estimating it. A 30 percent poolish on a small home batch needs well under half a gram, which no spoon can measure, and doubling it by accident is enough to run the poolish out overnight. A 0.1 g scale is the tool that makes preferments practical at home, and it is the same one everything else on this site assumes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between poolish and biga?
Hydration. A poolish is a wet preferment at 100 percent hydration, equal weights of flour and water, which ferments into a bubbly batter. A biga is a stiff preferment at 45 to 55 percent hydration that ferments into a shaggy, barely combined lump. The wet one develops more acetic and lactic tang and more extensibility, the stiff one develops more strength and a milder, sweeter, nuttier flavour.
How much poolish should I use in pizza dough?
Between 20 and 50 percent of the total flour weight, with 30 percent a good default. At 30 percent of a 600 g flour total, the poolish holds 180 g of flour and 180 g of water, and the final dough takes the remaining 420 g of flour. Going above 50 percent makes the dough very extensible and slack, which is excellent for flavour and difficult to launch.
How long does a poolish need to ferment?
Twelve to sixteen hours at around 68F with 0.2 percent instant dry yeast of the poolish flour. It is ready when the surface is domed and covered in bubbles and it has just started to flatten in the centre. That collapse point is the signal: a poolish used before it bubbles is doing nothing for you, and one used long after it collapses has spent its sugar and turns the dough sour.
What hydration should a biga be?
Between 45 and 55 percent, with 50 percent the classic figure. At 50 percent a biga made from 300 g of flour takes 150 g of water and comes together as a rough, dry, lumpy mass rather than a smooth dough. That dryness is the point: less free water means slower, more controlled fermentation, which is why a biga can sit for 16 to 18 hours at cellar temperature without over-running.
Do I add salt to a poolish or biga?
No, in almost every case. Salt slows fermentation, and the entire purpose of a preferment is to let a small amount of yeast work a portion of the flour thoroughly before the main mix. All the salt goes into the final dough, where it does its structural and seasoning work. The one exception is a very long biga in a warm kitchen, where 0.5 percent salt can be used as a brake.
Does a preferment replace a cold ferment?
They do different jobs and they combine well. A preferment builds flavour and dough strength before the main mix, while a cold ferment develops flavour and browning in the finished dough over days. Many strong pizza formulas use both: a 16 hour poolish, then a 24 hour cold ferment of the balls. If you only have time for one, a poolish gets you most of the flavour benefit in a single overnight step.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, verified owner reviews, and long-established baker's percentage practice. We do not test gear in person. Dough figures are guidance, not a recipe guarantee: flour, water and room conditions all vary, so read your dough as well as the numbers.
Heat safety: a pizza oven at working temperature holds a 700F to 950F floor and a shell hot enough to burn on contact. Use long-handled peels and heat-rated gloves, keep children and pets clear, burn fuel outdoors only with clearance from anything combustible, and never pour water on a hot baking stone. Water flashes to steam instantly and thermal shock cracks stone.
Keeping your own dough and bake numbers? The Dough & Oven Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.