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Different things. A pre-ferment (poolish, biga) is for developing some of the more complex flavors that a quick / "straight" dough won't give you. Tangzhong is
by dharmon 7y ago
Different things. A pre-ferment (poolish, biga) is for developing some of the more complex flavors that a quick / "straight" dough won't give you.
Tangzhong is basically about packing more moisture into a dough while keeping it easy to handle. Higher hydration doughs are very sticky and take some experience to work with, but this will let you get something that is like a 75% hydration, but still handles like a 70% hydration dough. (I just made up these numbers, but you get the point).
For my part, I am fairly experienced with handling up to 80-ish% hydration, so I never bother with tangzhong, since it just adds another thing to do and creates more dishes to wash.
- James_Henry 7y agoSorry, I don't understand what you are trying to say here. Tangzhong doesn't just "pack more moisture into a dough while keeping it easy to handle". It changes the loaf after baking, too. From what I understand this is because the flour that is cooked in the roux has its gluten destroyed, thus you have a paste in your dough that isn't imparting structure in the same way and holds moisture in a different way, even after baking. So tangzhong can give you a higher hydration, but it's not necessarily the same thing as your 80-ish% hydration dough.
- dharmon 7y agoMeh. I've tried both and don't see the difference. TFA backs up what I'm saying. If you know of a source that claims it changes the structure in ways besides what the article says I'd be interested in reading.