KITCHEN Trending Toppings - Page 48 A Biga Deal What you need to know about dough pre-ferments By John Gutekanst W hen you enter through the back of most small independent pizzerias, one of the fi rst things you see is fl our. Stacks of it. Th e brilliant irony of entering the dragon through the back is that this is the place where your pizza is born. Th at fl our is the foundation of what your pizza identity is. Every pizza starts 44 / PIZZATODAY.COM / DECEMBER 2020 44 / PIZZATODAY.COM / MARCH 2023 with fl our combined with other ingredients to make a base. Th is base is what defi nes you and your business. It distinguishes you from your lazy and bloated corporate competitors whose fl our is never touched by human hands. Th is base can bring more customers, employ more people, keep you in business and enable you to feed and clothe your family. Th e base is serious stuff and using a prefermented starter can only make it better. Wild Thing Breads and their form had been thought to be baked for over 20,000 years until recent fi nds in a Neanderthal cave exposed a pancake style fl atbread made with local seeds dating back 70,000 years. Th e use of natural yeasts has been common throughout history and made a big debut in the days of the Roman Republic. Th e bakers (called pistor or triticarius) preferred a pre-ferment made with millet fl our mixed with must from beer making. Th is washttp://www.PIZZATODAY.COM http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM