Meanings
plural poolishes
- countableuncountableA mixture of flour and water with a little yeast; used to make some forms of dough.
In order to ensure a lower acidity, the ideal time to add the poolish to the dough is when it has matured. At this point it will have domed slightly and will be just beginning to deflate. A long poolish produces more interesting aromas and requires […]
2003, Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Bread Bible, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 35Synonyms: pre-ferment, sponge, bread starter
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA mixture of flour and water with a little yeast; used to make some forms of dough.
Origin
Compare Polish and French pouliche.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French poolish, levain sur levure
- poolishmixture
- levain sur levuremixture
- levain-levuremixture
Italian poolish, biga
- poolishmixture
- bigamixture
Polish biga, zaczyn drożdżowy
- bigamixture
- zaczyn drożdżowymixture
Spanish poolish, pulís
- poolishmixture
- pulísmixture
Cite this entry
poolish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poolish
“poolish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poolish. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poolish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poolish.
Source: poolish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.