Long Poolish Loaf

Deep flavor from baker's yeast — no starter required.

Time: 20 hrYield: 1 loaf (~900 g)Difficulty: medium

yeastpoolishprefermentintermediateflavor

A sourdough starter isn't the only way to get complex, deeply flavored bread. An 18-hour poolish made with a tiny amount of commercial yeast — 0.03% by flour weight — produces esters, alcohols, and organic acids that a same-day dough simply can't. The result is a loaf with real depth: open crumb, caramelized crust, a faint sweetness, and zero tang. This is the bread to make when you want flavor without sourness, or when you don't have a starter yet.

Ingredients

250 g	bread flour— for the poolish
250 g	water— room temperature, for the poolish
0.08 g	instant yeast— for the poolish — a tiny pinch, about 1/32 tsp
250 g	bread flour— for the final dough
75 g	whole wheat flour
100 g	water— room temperature
4 g	instant yeast— for the final dough
11 g	fine sea salt

Method

1
Build the poolish
The night before baking, combine 250 g bread flour, 250 g water, and 0.08 g instant yeast (a tiny pinch — see tip below). Stir until no dry flour remains. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and leave at room temperature for 16–18 hours. It's ready when the surface is domed, covered in bubbles, and just starting to recede at the center.
2
Mix the final dough
Add the remaining 250 g bread flour, 75 g whole wheat flour, 100 g water, 4 g instant yeast, and 11 g salt to the ripe poolish. Mix until a shaggy dough forms — use the water to help loosen the poolish from the bowl. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
3
Stretch and fold
Over the next hour, perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds spaced 20 minutes apart. Each set: grab one side of the dough, stretch up without tearing, fold over the center. Rotate 90° and repeat four times around the bowl. The dough will tighten noticeably by the third set.
4
Bulk fermentation
Cover and let bulk ferment at room temperature (70–75°F) until the dough has grown 50–75% and feels airy and jiggly when you shake the bowl. This goes faster than sourdough — check at 1 hour.
5
Shape
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pre-shape into a round, cover with a towel, and rest 15–20 minutes. Then do a final shape — pull the dough toward you to build surface tension, then fold and seal the seam. Place seam-side up in a well-floured banneton or a bowl lined with a floured towel.
6
Cold proof
Cover and refrigerate overnight. The cold proof slows fermentation and makes the dough easier to score. Bake straight from the fridge — no need to temper.
7
Bake
Place a Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C) for at least 45 minutes. Turn the cold dough onto parchment, score with a razor blade at a 30–45° angle. Lower into the Dutch oven, cover, and bake 20 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce to 450°F, and bake 20–25 minutes more until deep mahogany brown. Cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour before cutting.

Tips

0.08 g of yeast is nearly impossible to weigh on a home scale. Instead: dissolve 1 g of yeast in 100 g of water, then use 8 g of that solution in your poolish. Discard the rest.
The poolish is over-ripe if it has collapsed flat and smells sharply alcoholic. Under-ripe is fine — it will catch up in the final dough.
Whole wheat flour adds nuttiness and helps the crust color. You can substitute more bread flour if you don't have it.
This dough is wetter than it looks. Resist adding flour during shaping — a bench scraper and confident hands are all you need.