Pâte fermentée is also called “old dough”. It can be a piece leftover dough from last time baking that is kept in the fridge or it can be prepared one day before baking bread.
It gives a complex flavour to the bread, it enhances crust colour and it makes the gluten network stronger. This is especially important when baking a rich dough with a lot of fat and sugar.
I prepare the pâte fermentée normally one day in advance because the space in my fridge is limited and I can not keep a bowl with dough in it for longer than a night. But you can replace the pâte fermentée in a recipe with leftover dough like some pizza dough, you should just keep this dough in fridge at least over night so it develops some flavour.
Pâte fermentée
yields about 200g
- 125 g flour (Type 550)
- 85g water
- 1g yeast
- 2 g salt
Mix all ingredients for the pâte fermentée and knead for 3 min, then ferment it for 1 hour at room temperature. Then put the dough into the fridge for at least 12 hours.
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