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I was making poolish for pizza dough but accidentally left it out too long. It quadrupled in height before I stuck it in the fridge. Can I still use it or can I salvage it in a different way?

Matthijs P
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1 Answers1

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Give it a good sniff. If it smells yeasty, and maybe a little sour, you are good to go. After all, using a poolish (or any starter) at its peak activity is a good thing. The longer it ferments, the more alcohol is produced. Too much alcohol inhibits yeast and bacterial activity; and, therefore, oven spring later. So be on the lookout for alcoholic aromas or evidence that you are well past peak activity. There are no safety risks here, as long as it isn't moldy. An alternative, if it has gone well past peak activity, is to think of it as a starter. Punch or stir it down, remove a good portion, feed it fresh flour and water, and essentially start over.

moscafj
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    Thanks. It collapsed before I could use it so trying to use it to start over. – Matthijs P May 18 '23 at 10:54
  • I restarted them in two batches: 1. by going 50:50 old poolish / new flour & water. 2. by going 60:10 old poolish / new flour & water. They didn't rise as high as a fresh batch of poolish, but both worked out brilliantly as pizza. – Matthijs P May 22 '23 at 11:22
  • @MatthijsP...you can keep it going as a starter. Just remove a good portion, and feed equal parts water and flour. If you don't want to feed twice a day, stick it in the fridge. The starter will last quite a while. When you want to use again, remove, discard half, feed with fresh flour and water and leave at room temp. Repeat twice a day for a couple of days and you will have a ready to use active starter. – moscafj May 22 '23 at 19:53