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a sponge is a leavener. it's an additive used to produce or stimulate
production of carbon dioxide in baked goods to impart a light texture.

jim

Ron said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and I
came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour. Can
someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

Ron said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and I
came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour. Can
someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

A sponge is what would result from the mixing of those ingredients. At
various hydrations, such a mixture is also called a poolish, chef or
biga. It is a pre-ferment, allowed to ripen to develop flavor, and
then added into the final dough as it is mixed. It adds depth of
flavor to the bread.

Almost all my breads are made with sourdough or pre-ferments of some
sort. I enjoy working with them, they are quite flexible and adaptable
to most of my favorite recipes and I feel they give the bread a
wonderful boost in taste.

Boron

Boron Elgar said:

Ron said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and I
came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour. Can
someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

A sponge is what would result from the mixing of those ingredients. At
various hydrations, such a mixture is also called a poolish, chef or
biga. It is a pre-ferment, allowed to ripen to develop flavor, and
then added into the final dough as it is mixed. It adds depth of
flavor to the bread.

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Almost all my breads are made with sourdough or pre-ferments of some
sort. I enjoy working with them, they are quite flexible and adaptable
to most of my favorite recipes and I feel they give the bread a
wonderful boost in taste.

Here I believe you've moved on to sour dough "starter", not really a
sponge.

sponge [SPUHNJ]
A light bread-dough mixture made by combining the yeast with some of
the flour and liquid called for in a recipe. The thick, batterlike
mixture is covered and set aside until it bubbles and becomes foamy,
which, depending on the combination of ingredients, can take up to 8
hours. During this time, the sponge develops a tangy flavor. The
remaining ingredients are added to this sponge and the bread is kneaded
and baked as usual. Using a sponge also makes the final loaf slightly
denser.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
---

Sheldon

"Ron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and I
came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour. Can
someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

It means to mix the ingredients and let it sit until it is bubbly.

--
Peter Aitken

Ron said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and I
came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour. Can
someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

A sponge is a prefermented dough, used to build flavor as well as provide
leavening. Simple definition - aged, dough (like sourdough starter). You
might also want to bookmark
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/bethsbread/sdDefinitions.html where you'll find
a more detailed definition of sponge and a bunch of other bread-baking
terms.

Though there are many variations, some firmer, some looser, here's one:
Sponge:
1 tsp. dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
In a mixer bowl, add the yeast to the water, allow to stand for 3-4 minutes,
stirring gently. Sift the flour and add to the yeast. Combine ingredients
well, cover and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours.

--
To email, replace Cujo with Juno

Sheldon said:

Boron Elgar said:

Ron said:

Hi, All;

I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and
I came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour.
Can someone tell me what "sponge" means?

Thanks.

Ron

A sponge is what would result from the mixing of those ingredients.
At various hydrations, such a mixture is also called a poolish, chef
or biga. It is a pre-ferment, allowed to ripen to develop flavor, and
then added into the final dough as it is mixed. It adds depth of
flavor to the bread.

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Almost all my breads are made with sourdough or pre-ferments of some
sort. I enjoy working with them, they are quite flexible and
adaptable to most of my favorite recipes and I feel they give the
bread a wonderful boost in taste.

Here I believe you've moved on to sour dough "starter", not really a
sponge.

Actually what he said was that he made "all his breads" (which I took to
mean many different kinds) with some sort of sourdough or pre-ferments of
some sort. In Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible 30 - 38 she goes into
the different types of preferments. In 3 sentences on pg 31 she summarizes
it quite nicely. " There are several different types of pre-ferments. They
vary mainly by the amount of water they contain. Don't be put off by
strange- sounding names like barm, biga, chef, desem, levain, madre bianca,
mother, pâte fermentée, poolish, sponge, starter, or sourdough starter.
Peter Reinhart on page 54 of The Bread Baker's Apprentice and beginning on
page 34 of Crust and Crumb and Bernard Clayton, Jr beginning on pg 273 of
Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads confirm Beranbaum's
statements. So although sourdough is not a sponge.. they are both
preferments.

Debbie

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and
stupidity." Harlan Ellison

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 12:10:18 -0400, "Debbie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Sheldon said:

Boron Elgar said:

On 28 Oct 2005 07:05:44 -0700, "Ron" <[email hidden]> wrote:

> Hi, All;
>
> I want to make a couple of cheeseburgers on some ciabatta bread and
> I came across a recipe for the bread that said sponge 1 tsp
> of dry yeast, 1 cup of warm water, and 1 1/2 cups of shifted flour.
> Can someone tell me what "sponge" means?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ron

A sponge is what would result from the mixing of those ingredients.
At various hydrations, such a mixture is also called a poolish, chef
or biga. It is a pre-ferment, allowed to ripen to develop flavor, and
then added into the final dough as it is mixed. It adds depth of
flavor to the bread.

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Almost all my breads are made with sourdough or pre-ferments of some
sort. I enjoy working with them, they are quite flexible and
adaptable to most of my favorite recipes and I feel they give the
bread a wonderful boost in taste.

Here I believe you've moved on to sour dough "starter", not really a
sponge.

Actually what he said was that he made "all his breads" (which I took to
mean many different kinds) with some sort of sourdough or pre-ferments of
some sort. In Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible 30 - 38 she goes into
the different types of preferments. In 3 sentences on pg 31 she summarizes
it quite nicely. " There are several different types of pre-ferments. They
vary mainly by the amount of water they contain. Don't be put off by
strange- sounding names like barm, biga, chef, desem, levain, madre bianca,
mother, pâte fermentée, poolish, sponge, starter, or sourdough starter.
Peter Reinhart on page 54 of The Bread Baker's Apprentice and beginning on
page 34 of Crust and Crumb and Bernard Clayton, Jr beginning on pg 273 of
Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads confirm Beranbaum's
statements. So although sourdough is not a sponge.. they are both
preferments.

Debbie

You are correct, though I am a "she."

Sheldon is just plain wrong.

Boron

Boron Elgar said:

Quoted message said:

Debbie said:

>

<much snipping>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Actually what he said was that he made "all his breads" (which I
took to mean many different kinds) with some sort of sourdough or
pre-ferments of some sort. So although sourdough is
not a sponge.. they are both preferments.

Debbie

You are correct, though I am a "she."

Sorry, didn't mean to give you a sex change. :-)

Debbie

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and
stupidity." Harlan Ellison

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 13:57:21 -0400, "Debbie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Boron Elgar said:

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 12:10:18 -0400, "Debbie"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

>>

<much snipping>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>
> Actually what he said was that he made "all his breads" (which I
> took to mean many different kinds) with some sort of sourdough or
> pre-ferments of some sort. So although sourdough is
> not a sponge.. they are both preferments.
>
> Debbie
>

You are correct, though I am a "she."

Sorry, didn't mean to give you a sex change. :-)

S'ok! That is why I use the nick...

Boron

Thanks, folks. Much appreciated all the information.

Ron